Are Dispersion and Concentration in the Stock Market Too High?

U.S. large cap stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, delivered a solid performance in the first half of 2024. In January, the index eclipsed an all-time high, and in the five months that followed, it reached 31 more. Volatility has also been relatively subdued. In the first six months, there was only one instance when the index rose or fell by more than 2%…

Maximum Estate Value to Avoid Probate

In the mid-1960’s, efforts to modernize the probate system through adoption of the so-called Uniform Probate Code were conceived as joint projects of the American Bar Association and the National Conference of Comissioners on Uniform State Laws. The project attempted to bring some order to a system that was so archaic and complex that few, if any, of the country’s scholars of jurisprudence could find any redeeming…

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Study

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) comissioned a two-year study conducted by attorneys on probate titled A Report on Probate: Consumer Perspectives and Concerns. The AARP study, published in 1990, is one of the most comprehensive and perceptive analyses of the probate system done to date, and it deserves far more credit and publicity than have been given it.

This study produced some very convincing evidence…

How Much Loss Can Retirees Really Handle During Distribution Years?

From: www.morningstar.com

Sequence of returns risk

Paul retired in 1990 with $1M in his account that was invested in the S&P 500.

Bill started out the same, but his ending values looked much different since he retired in 2000 and had much different luck than Paul.

While planning for retirement, many focus on the accumulation phase and fail to acknowledge how a negative…

ALI Cannex Protected Retirement Income and Planning (PRIP) Report

From: CANNEX

This is a study among consumers ages 45-75. It is a corollary to a study of financial professionals focused on retirement planning approaches and the role of annuities. The primary focus of these two studies is to identify how a range of protected retirement solutions fit with approaches to retirement planning, and how often consumers and financial professionals consider or use annuities in…

HECM vs HELOC

Before you consider a HELOC, there may be a better choice, exclusively for you. A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage.

• If you are 62 or older
• If you don’t want to make required monthly mortgage payments
• If you are planning on living in the home for at least several years
• If you are interested in a flexible line of credit that is available when you need it

For many people, a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)…

5 Charts About the Super Concentrated Stock Market

From: www.morningstar.com

We may be entering a new bull market, but nearly all of 2023′s returns are from the largest stocks, including Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

It may seem like the stock market is having a good year. But take a closer look, and you see that its gains are more highly concentrated than ever before. Just a handful of stocks are responsible for…

Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills: 1928-2022

From: stern.nyu.edu