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In life, few things put us at the mercy of our emotions the way investing can. The last three years in the markets have been especially unnerving, exhibiting the plot elements of a Shakespeare play. We witnessed drama as the world locked down during Covid, a supernatural-like intervention by Congress and the Federal Reserve to […]
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Updated March 2, 2023 to reflect the updated California tax deadline. NEW BEGINNING AGES FOR RMDS The SECURE Act that was signed into law at the end of 2019 changed key rules around Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Notably, the age to begin taking required minimum distributions increased from 70.5 to 72. The Act also eliminated […]
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Now is a good time for those wanting to give to consider establishing a charitable gift annuity. At its core, a CGA is an arrangement whereby assets are given to a charity in return for the charity’s promise to make lifetime payments of a fixed amount to a beneficiary, who is often the donor. This […]
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As we welcome a new calendar year, we pause to reflect upon the one which has concluded and consider what 2023 might offer investors. 2022 was a tumultuous year in the financial markets, with double-digit losses for both stocks and bonds. A rapid rise in inflation and interest rates served as the catalyst for the […]
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“The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more […]
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In some ways, Clifford Swan Investment Counselors has been undergoing a period of transformation, which started seven years ago when we became a 100% employee-owned firm. While we have always focused the firm’s direction on providing valuable guidance, taking the step to being fully independent allowed us more control over how we shape the firm […]
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After dropping borrowing rates to zero during the pandemic, the Federal Reserve has dramatically changed course in a bid to fight inflation. As we’ve written about before, higher rates have two key effects: a psychological one – weighing on risk appetite – and a mathematical one, as higher rates reduce the value of future cash […]
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Clifford Swan’s summer internship program has successfully – and happily – been reinstated following a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. The internship provides undergraduate students considering a career in investment and wealth management a fundamental educational experience and opportunity to develop skills in multiple components of an investment advisory firm, while at the same time […]
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In last quarter’s newsletter, equity analyst Dan Mintz considered equity investment in an inflationary environment. Today, we will discuss how the fixed income landscape is changing and share our resultant investment strategy. <br> INFLATION, RECESSION, AND YIELD CURVE SIGNALS With prices for everyday purchases like food and gas remaining high, inflation continues to be […]
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There are many ways to support charitable causes financially. There are outright cash donations, bequests in an estate, different types of charitable trusts, as well as charitable gift annuities. Today, we will focus on the latter. “The promise of a reliable income stream is often attractive to donors.” Charitable gift annuities, or CGAs for short, […]
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Financial Advisor magazine recognizes Clifford Swan in their sixteenth annual ranking of independent advisory firms around the country, ranking Clifford Swan as the 15th largest RIA in California. RIA firms applied for consideration. To be eligible for the ranking, firms must be independent registered investment advisers, file their own ADV statement with the SEC, and provide financial […]
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There were very few places to hide during the year’s first half as both equity and fixed income markets suffered heavy losses. With companies and consumers facing the highest inflation since the early 1980s, the U.S. Federal Reserve recently, and perhaps belatedly, raised interest rates aggressively to combat inflation. Rapidly rising interest rates swiftly brought […]
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