Mountain Money Blog

The Incomparable Virtues of Goals Based Planning

By Steven Smith | December 21, 2017

One of my standard cocktail party questions when conversing with investors is: How much are you trying to earn with your investments? A typical response is: As much as I can. Then I follow up with: Well, how will you know when you’ve done that? – I often get a blank stare. These are of […]

Tax Cut and Jobs Act, HR 1 – What it Means

By Steven Smith | December 20, 2017

As of this writing the new tax bill hasn’t yet been signed by the President. But it already seems to have been sealed and delivered. So at the slight risk of being too fast out the gate, here is a summary of the vast new law which goes into effect on January 1, 2018 – […]

3rd Quarter Client Note

By Right Path Investments | November 7, 2017

Equity markets continued their record run in the 3rd quarter. The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 4.48% in the quarter, bringing its return to 14.24% for the year-to-date. The index hasn’t had a down quarter since the third quarter of 2015 and only one losing quarter since 2013. In the US, Small […]

2nd Quarter Client Note – Tribulations of a Value Investor

By Steven Smith | July 12, 2017

Stock markets around the globe had their best first six months in years. In the second quarter, The S & P 500 (total return) Index gained 3.09%; bringing the total increase to 9.34% thus far for the year. US Large Cap Growth Stocks returned 4.67%. While Large Cap Value returned only 1.34%. After years of […]

1st Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | April 10, 2017

The “Trump Bump” continued unabated in the first quarter. The S & P 500 (total return) Index gained 6.07%; tacking on to the 3.82% increase in the fourth quarter of 2016. In a reversal from last year, the gain was led by growth stocks, which were up 8.91%, while value stocks gained 3.27%. The S […]

4th Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | January 9, 2017

Now that was exciting. With the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the S & P 500 (total return) Index gained 3.82% during the fourth quarter – and more than 5% since election day. The index was up 11.96% for the year. This, after losing 10.5% in January and early […]

3rd Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | October 11, 2016

Markets continued to move higher in the 3rd quarter. The S & P 500 (total return) index was up 3.85% and 8.12% year-to-date. The small cap Russell 2000 index increased 9.05%. Foreign markets, which have underperformed significantly over the last decade, were among the best performers. The MSCI Developed Markets Index was up 6.43%; while […]

2nd Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | July 15, 2016

The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 2.46% in the quarter; but not without a whipsaw caused by the June 23rd vote in Great Britain to leave (Brexit) the European Union. Two days of steep losses (over 5%) were almost completely recovered in the last three days of trading. The index gained 3.99% […]

1st Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | April 12, 2016

The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 1.35% in the quarter. This was no mean feat considering what was occurring in January. The first two weeks of January welcomed the worst start to a year for the S & P 500 in history. The index was down 7.93% from January 4 -15. For […]

4th Quarter Client Note

By Steven Smith | January 15, 2016

The stock market actually achieved a sizable gain in the fourth quarter. But it sure didn’t feel like it. Going in to the quarter the S & P 500 (Total Return) Index had been down 5.29% for the year. So the 7.04% fourth quarter gain resulted in a small 1.38% increase for the year; almost […]

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