Blog

By CB Mason

As we fall in to the autumn season, we are embracing change.  Not only are the leaves turning a glorious array of fall colors, but how you view your portfolio has transformed too! Both our website and your statement from Fidelity have experienced renovations. Here are some highlights of the updates:

Our Website

By Kevin Chambers

A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that designates a trustee that holds assets on behalf of a beneficiary. There are two main ways to classify trusts. First is the determination of when a trust becomes effective: Living Trusts vs. Testamentary Trusts.

By Kevin Chambers

On September 17, 2015, the Federal Reserve once again decided to push back raising interest rates. This decision has spurred renewed speculation in the financial press about what will happen to bond investments when rates finally do end up rising. Let’s revisit the role of bonds in our portfolios and the possible effects in the long term.

By Kevin Chambers

Two basic types of mutual funds exist: active and passive. Passive funds, also called index funds, attempt to replicate the holdings of a specific index benchmark, for example the S&P 500. An S&P 500 index fund will buy the 500 stocks in the index and try to match the weighting. Active managers choose the stocks they think will perform the best and attempt to beat the index. The amount an active manger beats the index by is called alpha. At Headwater Investments, we tend to favor the passive investing approach; however, we do incorporate actively managed funds into portfolios for specific asset classes. For more information on why we favor index funds, see the Advantages of Index Funds.

By Kevin Chambers

A will is a legal document that clearly communicates your wishes for the distribution of your property and provides instructions for handling other matters of your estate. Most wills designate an executor who is responsible for carrying out the wishes stipulated in the will. As an integral part of estate planning, a will should be created and updated with the aid of an attorney.

By Kevin Chambers

As parents from across the nation prepare to send their children to college, we are reminded of the mind-boggling increase in college tuition. From 2004-2014, tuition and fees at public four-year schools rose 3.5% a year beyond inflation[1]. Saving for college can be difficult, especially because keeping money in bank accounts gives you essentially no interest. There are several options to invest money for college, the most popular of which is called a 529 plan.

By Kevin Chambers

So far this year the stock market has been performing poorly. Year to date through August 24th, the S&P 500 is down over -3%, and the last 3 months it is down over 7%. The market has been fairly volatile. Investors are worried about a few different risk factors. On August 24th the market dropped 4% in one day, to rebound another 2% on the morning of the 25th, and slide back down to -1.4% for the end of the day. This summer the Chinese stock market has been sliding down after worries about slowing growth. The instability has started to spread to other Asian economies. The continued decline of global commodity prices, especially oil also has investors on edge. Finally, the US Federal Reserve is still keeping the markets in the dark about when they will increase interest rates.  All of these factors have made markets touchy to financial news making prices swing day to day.

By Kevin Chambers

Much speculation in the financial media has been made as to why the Federal Reserve has not yet taken action on increasing interest rates. The Fed has claimed that sluggish commodity prices are a reason for their hesitation. The leading index for aggregate commodity prices, the Bloomberg Commodity Index, has lost -1.6% for the first half of 2015. In fact, it has lost every year from 2011 to now, making commodities the lowest performing major asset class over the last 5 years.

By Kevin Chambers

Estate planning is often a source of stress for people as they near retirement. It can be complex and daunting, but having a solid estate plan can make a big difference for your loved ones. Here is the first tip to make the process a little clearer and less intimidating.

By Kevin Chambers

The Chinese stock market has been making a great deal of headlines in recent weeks. Unfortunately, the coverage has been about the turmoil on the exchanges. From June 12th to July 8th, the Chinese stock market dropped about 30%. The market has since rebounded, due to Chinese government action earlier this month. Then, in the last week of July the market in China crashed again. Perhaps a little background on the Chinese stock market will help explain why it has been so erratic.By Kevin Chambers