Investment Insight

Updates and articles on timely topics from the Investment Team.

Records and Resets

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer

"This too shall pass.” As I’ve aged, this is one of the most important mantras that I carry with me. The origin of this phrase stems back to early Persia, but versions have appeared in many cultures in a variety of forms including songs, poems, speeches, and a screen-printed t-shirt or two. For me, this phrase is an important and constant reminder that neither the bad nor good will last forever. In my early days as a parent, in those first months and years of seemingly constant change, this ... [Continue Reading]

Managing Through Current Events and Related Volatility

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer

Ben Franklin famously penned, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would venture to guess that if he were around today, he would allow me to include stock market volatility as a third item on that list. But fortunately, unlike the other two examples, market volatility is typically short-lived and doesn’t have to be a permanent impediment to future success. In fact, sudden changes in prices to reflect newly available information is normal and ... [Continue Reading]

Recognizing Recency Bias in Investing

James Michael Yaworski, CFA
Senior Investment Strategist

Investors are prone to recency bias, a key aspect of behavioral finance that favors recent events over historic ones, and as an example, can result in focusing on companies that have generated the best returns in recent years as opposed to taking a longer view. What's important to remember is that, over time, each area of the market has its moment in the sun; internet stocks in the late 90s, commodities and real estate in the early 2000s, alternative investment strategies during the global ... [Continue Reading]

Bonds: Leveraging Yield Curves in Your Portfolio

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer

What a difference a year can make. Last April, we were discussing the uncertainty and unprecedented events of the early pandemic. The daily headlines seemed to rotate between record unemployment claims, increasing infection rates, a locked down economy, and a wildly volatile stock market. In contrast, our attention today is focused on millions of new jobs being added to payrolls, ever-higher vaccination rates, an economy that is opening up, and one of the strongest one-year stock market returns ... [Continue Reading]

Lessons (Re)Learned

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer

Reflecting on a year gone by is often, at least to some extent, an exercise in revisionist history. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; many of the differences between our memories and experiences are minor and inconsequential. In some cases, the variations in these realities can help us persevere and move out of the past and into future endeavors. But as investors, revising the memories of the past can be problematic and potentially hinder future success. Behavioral finance is the study of ... [Continue Reading]