On the heels of a September which was generally attractive, the markets entered October again looking spooky. In fact, like a year ago where the high for the year was observed on September 21, the S&P500 was off almost 4% between September 20 and October 2. That could be eerie for anyone paying close attention. In recent weeks, the US economic picture seems to be getting increasingly muddied by the sluggish international backdrop as fresh data ranging from manufacturing, services, inflation, and jobless claims all appears to be confirming a broad slowdown observable via downbeat readings coming in from abroad. Some meaningful market action reprieve arrived late last week as the US President offered a more optimistic narrative around current trade talks with China at the same time as reports of productive Brexit negotiations (a more than 2-year uncertainty at this point) we hitting the wires. Both domestic and international stocks jumped higher to end last week.
Monthly Archives: October 2019
“September Crazy” & “Big FAT Yields” – Nvest Nsights Q3 Newsletter
Despite persistent and worrisome headlines dominating the news flow all year, US Stocks enter the 4th quarter with their biggest YTD gains in more than two decades. In this quarter’s update, the article “September Crazy” discusses why the current bull market – which began 127 months ago and is now the longest in US history – could still advance further due to fundamentals and an anything-but-euphoric sentiment. “Big Fat Yields” (or the lack-thereof) shares several implications of low interest rates, the message from the yield curve, and the Fed’s likelihood to pursue additional cuts. The above themed titles taken together might also be a reason why the market leadership shifted abruptly in September; will we see the rotation wherein “Losers Win; Winners Lose” continue into the 4Q?
The newsletter also contains two brief Personal Finance themed notes: “Doing Diligence” and “Transitioning from a ‘Saver’ to a ‘Spender’ in Retirement” are related, but speak to the importance of discipline (be it with saving, investing, etc) as well as the emotional hurdles we observe for many individuals either at the doorsteps or in the early innings of retirement. These articles can be found posted separately.
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Transitioning From A “Saver” to a “Spender” In Retirement
I carefully saved for most of my life… now you are telling me that I need to spend my retirement nest egg?
One of the most difficult transitions many individuals will face in financial life is moving from being a “person at work” (the accumulation phase where you are saving and building wealth) into someone now living off their “money at work” (the “decumulation” phase). A recent study by BlackRock Retirement Institute found that “instead of actively and systematically decumulating assets, retirees display a tendency across all wealth levels to retain assets and not spend down their initial principal.” The study also found that, “More than one third of current retirees actually grew their assets – leaving considerable potential consumption on the table.”