Tag Archives for " investments "

Dec 28

ESG Investing Back in the Arena, Political Hot Potato Gets Tossed Again

By Steven Smith | ESG Investing , Meanderings , Uncategorized

The political football has been tossed back into the hands of workplace retirement investors who want to take their values into account in managing their portfolios. At the end of 2020, the US Department of Labor, responsible under ERISA for regulating 401Ks, changed the rules for sustainable investing, moving the goal posts for fiduciaries by […]

Continue reading
Oct 16

DOL Proposed Rule Change Brings Awareness to Sustainable Investing

By Steven Smith | ESG Investing , Financial Lifestyle , Investment Management , Mountain Lifestyle , Peak Thoughts , Wealth Management

The current US Department of Labor (DOL) has a bone to pick with sustainable investing; what is now colloquially called Environmental, Social & Governance or ESG investing. On June 23, 2020 the DOL issued a proposed rule that would limit the use of investments that consider ESG factors in retirement plans subject to ERISA, such […]

Continue reading
Jul 17

2nd Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | Waypoints

The US stock market just had its best quarter in more than 20 years. (Yes, you heard that right.) Of course, that was on the heels of one of the scariest quarters in history, fueled by the Coronavirus pandemic reaching US shores in February. At its worst, on March 23, the S&P 500 was down […]

Continue reading
Apr 10

1st Quarter Client Note – Covid-19 Edition

By Steven Smith | Waypoints

There are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen. I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I have quoted Vladimir Lenin in a client note. And probably the last. A great deal has indeed happened since my first post on the coronavirus pandemic, when the implications were just beginning to emerge. The public health implications […]

Continue reading
Jan 14

4th Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | Waypoints

The S&P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 9.07% in 2019’s final quarter. Bringing the advance for the year to 31.49% — and for the decade, to an average annual 13.56%. (And yet, all anybody wants to talk about is how poorly their bonds are performing. The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index eked out a […]

Continue reading
Oct 14

3rd Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | Financial News , Waypoints

After a fitful bout of volatility during the month of August, including an 800 point one-day drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 (Total Return) Index turned in a respectable 1.70% gain for the quarter. That brought the year-to-date return to an extraordinary 20.55%. (For context, the most recent 12-month return, which […]

Continue reading
1 2 3 5