With stock and bond prices still down significantly for 2022, one opportunity for a “silver lining” comes in the form of tax loss harvesting. This involves selling investments in taxable accounts that have declined in price, thereby “realizing” losses. (Tax loss harvesting doesn’t apply to retirement accounts like 401Ks and IRAs.) These losses can be used to offset gains from …
Cryptocurrency and the Financial Perils of Herding
In recent weeks, the cryptocurrency industry has dominated financial headlines due to the bankruptcy of FTX, a popular crypto exchange. As an exchange, FTX allowed people to buy, sell, and trade digital currencies. The collapse of FTX began when reports surfaced about the company’s financial structure and levels of debt, which caused the price of FTX’s own “native currency,” the cryptocurrency …
A Thanksgiving Walk in the Woods
A few days before Thanksgiving, motivated by above-freezing weather and a late-afternoon urge for outdoor time, I bundled up and biked a couple miles to a favorite woodsy hiking trail. Often when I walk this trail it is empty of other people, and so as I pedaled, I presumed the same would be true. But as I turned into the postage …
How to Invest According to ESG Principles
This week’s Life with Money is our second installment on ESG investing. Last time we discussed various definitions and reasons why people might opt to invest in this way. One key takeaway was that “sustainable investing” is a general umbrella term, whereas Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing uses data to measure the sustainability of a company (both financial and in …
Pledged Asset Lines: Features and Updates
Many of PPA’s clients have short-term funding needs. The reasons vary: Some people require infusions of cash between pay checks, including those paid once a month, once a quarter, or only after completed transactions. Others need cash to make a down payment on a new house before their current house is sold. Still others want to finance renovation work on …
The Stock Market Isn’t the Economy
Stock market performance in 2022 has been dismal. Through October 31, the S&P 500, a broad measure of large companies in the US, had declined 19%. The causes have been diverse: The highest overall inflation in 40 years. Interest rates that have spiked, with the 10-year US Treasury yield rising from 1.5% at the end of 2021 to over 4% …
What is Sustainable Investing?
This week’s Life with Money features PPA advisor Samantha Ngooi exploring sustainable investing. This is a substantial, important, and somewhat complex topic – so our discussion will extend across a few installments of Life with Money. In today’s part one, we provide broad definitions of various relevant terms and discuss why someone might want to invest this way. In upcoming parts, …
Core Values Embodied in Work: A Reflection on Victor Levinson
This past Sunday, family and friends of Victor Levinson gathered in New York City to remember Vic and reflect on his life, work, and relationships. Reflections were shared by several of Vic’s lifelong friends; three of his grandchildren; and his three adult children (Nick, Lynn, and Tom). Each of the reflections offered a special window onto Vic. Nick’s reflections, in …
Investing vs Trading
In the everyday reporting about the ups and downs of markets, there is a frequent ambiguity that’s highly important, though easy to overlook. Take this lead story from the front page of this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal. “U.S. stocks slid Friday after a relatively strong jobs report, capping a roller-coaster week in which investors built up hopes for easier …
Consistent Advice Through Difficult Times
After a miserable month of September when stock prices declined 8% and bond prices dropped 4%, we want to provide some context for what’s happened so far in 2022. Accounting for the most recent few days of significant gains in October, the S&P 500 is down a little more than 20% for the year. Bonds have fallen about 15%. The …