Clay Northam Blog

  • European Central Bank Quantitative Easing, and What It Means for U.S. Investors

    June 2, 2015

    By:

    money-167741_1280Last January, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced for the first time in its 17-year history that it was going to begin buying government and corporate bonds, at the rate of €60 billion ($67 billion) a month at least until September 2016 in an attempt to stave off deflation and spur the euro zone’s economy. It’s a process called “quantitative easing,” or QE, and, according to economists’ consensus, its use by the Federal Reserve – the U.S. central bank – helped lift our economy out of recession six years ago. (more…)

  • What You Need to Know About an Individual 401k

    April 14, 2015

    By:

    Individual 401K

    What is an Individual 401k?

    An individual 401k, also called a one-participant 401k plan or a Solo 401k, is a retirement plan for the self-employed. It is for business owners who have no employees other than the owner’s spouse. An individual 401k comes in two versions, traditional or Roth, just as other 401k plans do. If you choose the traditional version, you input money on a pretax basis and pay taxes upon withdrawal. In the Roth version, you input money on an after-tax basis and it is then not taxed upon withdrawal. You can divide your contributions between a traditional and a Roth 401k. Which you should choose depends upon your current and projected tax rates. (more…)

  • Curb Your Emotions – Behavioral Finance

    February 24, 2015

    By:

    mind behavioral financeInvesting requires long term rational thought. Investment professionals – such as the famous Warren Buffet – are often quoted as saying phrases such as “emotions have no place in investing” or “the stock doesn’t know you own it.” The effect of emotional investing is usually negative and is driven by fear, greed or paralysis caused by over analysis. At Clay Northam Wealth Management we recognize that the ideal conditions noted above are really never the case as personality and previous experiences always influence an investor’s decision. The psychology behind how investment decisions are made is a recent field of study called behavioral finance. Traditional investment theory assumes that decisions are based on rational, even mathematical expectations. Behavioral finance points out examples of thought processes that lead to irrational financial decisions.

    (more…)

  • Win with Market Volatility

    November 8, 2014

    By:

    Market volatility is a top concern for investors according to a just released Advisor Top of Mind index of investor advisors. This index is based on a survey of a diverse group of 204 investment advisors. October certainly saw its share of volatility. The S&P 500 ended the month at an all-time high, up 2.32% for the month but with an 8.35% spread between its low on the 15th and high on the 31st. Many investors fear losing their gains especially after seeing the market extremes of the last few years. (more…)

  • The Russian-Ukraine Crisis and its Effect on the Global Economy

    May 2, 2014

    By:

    As many market watchers are in the thick of earnings season, waiting to hear their daily dose of both good and bad news, the Russian-Ukraine crisis continues to loom in the background.

    Since essentially annexing Crimea from Ukraine more than a month ago, life has obviously changed in this peninsula. Crimean residents are facing an identity crisis and their everyday lives have been turned upside down.

    Food imports have dropped thanks to messy rules. Cheese and pork have been banned by Crimean authorities from the Ukraine. Ordinary items, such as yogurt, are unavailable and recently, McDonald’s and Metro, a large Germany supermarket chain, have closed their doors.

    Many multinational businesses are trying to stay away from potential sanctions by running sites in Crimea while air travel connections have stopped except to Russia. Banks have been closed and now Crimea runs on Russian time even though cellphones go back to Ukrainian time.

    While the effects may be local, the crisis’ tentacles are extending globally.

    (more…)