Real Return of Stocks and Bonds by Inflation Type
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If you are expecting high inflation, it may be stocks which offer the greatest security against the diminishing dollar.

Did the 2022 Bear Market Continue Into 2023?
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The incongruity between feeling like we are in a bear market for 61.66% of trading days and actually being in a bear market for only 24.81% of those days unfortunately makes bear markets feel longer than they really are.

Four Fidelity ETFs Cheaper Than Vanguard (2022 Analysis)
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In the past, we’ve shown some preference to Vanguard funds, but going forward we plan to show some preference to the cheaper Fidelity funds.

Using Franklin Funds in 2022 Saved Clients Over $360,000
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Reducing expense ratios by a theoretical 0.42% is a significant result. It is good to know that what works in theory has also worked even better in practice.

Even Down, Biotechnology Still Had a Place in Efficient Portfolios (2022 Analysis)
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Biotechnology’s low correlation, the very thing that makes you dislike it, is specifically what gives it a place in efficient portfolios.

Bear Market Continues Through Third Quarter 2022
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While it is counterintuitive, the lower the market falls, the safer it is to be invested.

Stocks are On Sale (October 2022 Dynamic Tilt)
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The lower the market falls, the safer it is to be invested.

U.S. Investing in Review (Sept 2022)
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This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending September 30, 2022 our U.S. Stock Strategy had a +4.11% advantage over VTI.

Why I-Bonds May Not Be As Great As They Seem
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If you’re thinking about buying an I Bond, make sure it fits properly into your financial plan, and you aren’t just chasing the high interest rate.

I Bonds vs. TIPS: What is the Difference?
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Both are U.S. debt obligations which are adjusted by the Consumer Price Index, but they do so very differently.

Home Bias or Foreign Bond Funds?
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Home bias is the tendency of investors to invest a majority of their assets in companies domiciled in their home country.

A Closer Look at Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM)
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FRDM is interesting, but using our country specific funds plus a low cost Vanguard Emerging Market fund allows us to emphasize freedom for as low a cost as possible.

No Way To Tell If This Bear Market Is A Bull Yet
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Rather than trying to time your investments based on one or the other, the advice is simple. Stay the course. Invest. Rebalance.

Current Inflation vs. Expected Inflation (June 2022)
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Currently, 12-month inflation is 8.58% and the crowdsourced expected inflation is 2.88%. Here’s what to do.

A Second Dip Turns to Bear Market (June 2022)
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Stay the course. Rebalance. Don’t peek.

How to Survive High Inflation
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Inflation is like the rain. You must prepare in advance in order to stay dry.

Today Was An Intraday Bear Market (May 2022)
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The S&P 500 saw an intraday bear market today, dipping over 20% down from a prior high and then correcting back before the day’s close.

Bond Markets: Worst Quarter in 40 Years & Not That Bad (April 2022)
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We think holding your next seven years of spending in relatively safe bonds is always a good idea. But holding too much in bonds may not keep up with inflation and is not ideal for your long-term investment strategy.

Q&A: What One-Fund Could a Twenty-Something Invest In?
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Any of these ETFs or mutual funds seem like they could be a good one-fund pick for the long haul.

U.S. Investing in Review (December 2021)
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We anticipated Consumer Staples to have a lower expected return but a larger risk-adjusted return and we expected Biotechnology to have very volatile returns with lower correlations to the other sectors. Both of those things happened in 2021.

Swap to Franklin Funds Saved Clients Over $100,000
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The estimated advantage of Franklin funds during 2021 was 0.40% or $118,955.

Individual Foreign Health Care in Review (December 2021)
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An initial equal weight strategy of these 26 companies implemented on January 1, 2021 and held without further buys or sells through December 31, 2021 had a +8.64% advantage over the foreign healthcare benchmark.

Freedom Investing in Review (December 2021)
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This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending December 31, 2021, Developed Freedom Investing had a -0.12% disadvantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a +1.27% advantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a +0.21% advantage.

Freedom Investing in Review (September 2021)
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This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending September 30, 2021, Developed Freedom Investing had a +0.70% advantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a +1.64% advantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a +0.71% advantage.

Freedom Investing in Review (June 2021)
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This article is part of my series where I review how Freedom Investing performs for the quarter.

Freedom Investing in Review (March 2021)
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While many have been following the domestic returns and recovery, fewer investors know how well foreign investments did this past year.

How Should I Vote My Shares?
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You are not obligated to vote just because you own shares.

The Market Isn’t Made Up. It Is Made.
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The value of a stock is simply what people are willing to pay for it.

2021 Performance Report for Marotta’s Gone-Fishing Portfolios (2012-2020)
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Our Gone-Fishing Portfolios are free to use portfolios that take advantage of the no-transaction-fee, low-cost ETFs or mutual funds of each major custodian. Over the years, we’ve changed the funds and the allocations as new research or securities reveal improvements.

2020 in Review
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Looking closer into each asset class, here’s how our top six asset classes performed between January 1 and December 31, 2020.

How to Turn Monthly Returns Into an Average Annual Return in Excel
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There are three clear options: future value schedule, a product array, or a large table.

Before You Get Out Of The Stock Market, Read This
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When you get out of the markets, you have made a huge gamble with your retirement money, and now the stakes are high.

A Market of Stocks Rather Than A Stock Market
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Individual sectors of the economy have reacted very differently to the pandemic.

Surviving A Bear Attack in the Markets
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“No decent planner would ever create a plan that didn’t account for frequent market drops.”

The S&P 500 Recovered Today from the 2020 COVID Bear Market
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Those who flat-lined to cash or who waited to invest their cash until the markets looked better missed out on the recovery.

What Is A Short Sell?
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In short selling, a bankrupt stock is the best thing that can happen, but the worst thing that can happen is that the stock price will rise.

Radio: How COVID-19 Changed Real Estate
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City real estate will be a little less expensive and suburbs and the countryside will be a little more expensive.

Stay Invested After Volatile Quarters
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This data shows that there is no historical justification for selling to cash during volatile market movements.

Comparison Charts Are Meaningless
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They vary in the slope, depth, and duration of the downturn.

Radio: The Markets in June 2020
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On Tuesday, June 9, 2020, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show with Rob Schilling to talk about the markets.

Should I Change My Strategy During the Presidential Election Cycle?
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Should investors get out of the markets during an election year?

Can the Misery Index Predict a Second Drop?
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There are many possible futures which could produce any number of outcomes that would be normal market volatility.

Should I Take Everything Out Because the Markets are Recovering?
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Dare to be dull. When you rebalance instead of following the crowd, you set yourself up for greater expected returns and are the definition of being a contrarian.

Did Gold Do Better Than The Markets? (2020)
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Gold is extremely volatile and still doesn’t do much more than vaguely keep up with inflation. You can do better.

Energy Stocks Have Been Disappointing Recently (April 2020)
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Diversification means always having something to complain about. Recently, it has been energy.

Remembering The 2008 Crash as a Financial Planner
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Sometimes, you don’t get a second chance to be brave.

Remembering The 2008 Crash as an Investor
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I knew the market was going down, but I accidentally took Bogle’s advice and didn’t peek at my own accounts.

The Dot Com Bubble: The Bear Market of 2001
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Diversification is important. Diversification did not eliminate losses, but it did lose less and recover more quickly.

How a Stability Allocation Helps During a Bear Market (and What To Do If You Forgot One)
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While the appreciation allocation helps you achieve your financial goals, introducing a stability allocation into your portfolio can prevent your portfolio from running out of money.

Stock Buybacks Have Exceeded Fund Flows. So What?
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This disappointment with good stock market returns explains their need to criticize stock buybacks.

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