Being smart with $$ -- Wall Street projections: too little too late

Are Wall Street predictions worthless? Today Goldman Sachs lowered its estimate of where the stock market will end the year by about 5%. But this prediction is made AFTER the market has fallen 8% year to date. It may have been more impressive if they changed their predictions BEFORE the market fell. But if you still have faith, they believe the market is going up 6% from here before year-end.
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com

Being smart with $$ - Stocks are up, not down!

Losing money is no fun! Wouldn't it be nicer if stocks were up, say, 14% instead of down? Well, actually, they are. That's the 3-year average return on the S&P 500 stock index. And since the stock market is for long-term investors doesn't that seem like a more important measure than "year to date"?
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com

Being smart with $$ -- Lose less money

Lose less money. It's hard to watch our stock portfolios fall in a turbulent market. But the one thing you can do to improve performance without taking on more risk is to reduce fees. They add up to so much more than you would think. (Originally posted to social media 9/4/15.)

Larry Pike, CFA

www.clientpriority.com

Being smart with $$ -- Financial black holes may be costing you thousands

Thousands of dollars. That's what I helped my last client save in unnecessary fees and earn in additional investment income without changing their exposure to the markets or taking on any more market risk. And this is an annual benefit they will earn each year. Have you considered if there are similar black holes in your financial life?
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com

Being smart with $$ -- Are there bad times to buy stocks

Does it seem crazy to buy stocks when the market is crashing? And does it seem crazy to buy stocks when markets are healthy but prices are so high? If you bought stocks at the highs in 2000 before the crash, you would be up about 29% today. If you bought stocks at the lows of the 2001 crash, you would be up about 130% today. And that doesn't even include dividends received. So if you have a long-term horizon, when is it a bad time to buy stocks?
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com

Being smart with $$ -- Buy before a crash and get rich

Buy stocks right before a crash and you can still get rich. Ben Carlson, investment manager and writer, studied what happened if you bought stocks right before the crashes in 1973, 1987, 2000 and 2007. If you put a quarter of your portfolio in the market right before each of these crashes and never sold, your portfolio would be six times higher today. (As seen on CNBC).
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com

Being smart with $$ - Don't panic if you are invested properly

Stocks are down huge! But remember why we invest in stocks in the first place and if your portfolio is appropriate for your long-term needs then don't panic.  Ask me for my full investor letter that addresses today's market.
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com