Blog

How to Plan for Healthcare Costs: 4 Stages to Consider

As healthcare costs increase, planning is crucial. How can you prepare for future needs? Here are four stages to consider and what to do in each stage.    1. Pre-retirement   While working, healthcare costs...

A Guide to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): 3 Things to Know

With less than three months left in the year, it’s time to think about end-of-year to-dos. One priority is to satisfy your Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs, before December 31st.   If you're a client of Credent,...

Implications of the Hamas Incursion Against Israel

What has happened? On October 7th, the militant Islamist group Hamas fired missiles from Gaza and sent its fighters into Southern Israel, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war. As of October 9th, reports...

U.S. Government Shutdowns & Implications for Equity Market Participation

The U.S. government avoided a shutdown on October 1, 2023, after Congress approved legislation to extend the deadline to pass all appropriation bills to November 17. Should Congress fail to fund the government for the next fiscal year...

Keeping Your Feet on the Ground in Times of Change

Some life transitions, such as a career change, are planned, while others, such as job loss, are often sudden and unexpected. One common thread running through all transitions is the insecurity of wondering if you will have enough...

Retirement Planning Does Not Stop in Retirement

Five easy pointers to help you plan during all of your retirement years. If you’re retired, the good news is that you’ll probably live longer and perhaps better than your parents and grandparents did. The bad news:...

Our View of 2023: August Update

Notes on Increasingly Optimistic > Labor Market & Consumer Sentiment Our assessment on consumer consumption, the labor market and overall consumer sentiment proved largely accurate and may continue to play out through the rest of...

Financial Planning for a Meaningful Life – 5 Planning Tips

“Wealth, by contrast, is funded contentment. It is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life – however one chooses to define that.” -Brian Portnoy 1 Should you work with a financial advisor who vows that their only...

Addressing Care Options Now for Your Aging Parents

Whether they want the role or not, adult children often find themselves in the position of primary caregiver for their parents. Unfortunately, many of us are not prepared for that role. We often find ourselves so engrossed in how fast...

Elder Financial Fraud: 3 Ways to Protect Yourself & Your Loved Ones

Elder Financial Fraud: 3 Ways to Protect Yourself & Your Loved Ones  My wife and I are in our (very) early 70s, but we are quite active and engaged (70 is the new 50, right?) and consider ourselves financially astute. Even still,...

Our Outlook for a Soft Landing

Overview The economic backdrop thus far in 2023 has proven more resilient than expected. This is especially true as the consensus largely predicted that the U.S. economy would enter a recession heading into 2023 amidst a tightening...

Retirement Starter Pack: Questions to Ask Now for the Retirement You Want Later

Someday (if you haven’t already), you will hand in your badge, hang up your hat, close your accounts, and say your goodbyes.  Retirement is exciting and bittersweet, but if done right, it also requires strategic planning...

What to Do If You Receive an Inheritance: 5 Next Steps

Receiving an inheritance can carry the weight of loss and the confusion of wondering, “What now?” If you are overwhelmed with what your loved one left behind, here are 5 next...

Positioning and Outlook: Updated for Q3

We remain constructive on global equity markets and favor such exposure relative to bonds. While the U.S. economy is likely to experience a mild-to-normal recession in 2024, the notion of which has been highly anticipated within equity...

The Best Retirement Account: Retirement Accounts 101

Which kind of retirement account is best?  From a tax perspective, it’s a matter of minimizing the amount you pay.  Will you pay taxes on the money you pull from your retirement account? If so, you’re...

4 Ways to Help Your Loved Ones Succeed Financially

Your financial plan can help you retire, change jobs, make a purchase, travel, and start a business, but it can also impact your loved ones. Ask the right questions today to give your family and friends the resources and opportunities...

Tailwinds to Support the Economy and Equity Markets

With the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 signed into law, the debt ceiling issue has been resolved until early 2025. Within days of the June 5th X date (the date at which the federal debt limit would be exhausted), Congress passed...

5 Common Confusions About Wills, Trusts, & Leaving a Legacy

One of the goals of working with a financial advisor is to maximize your time on earth. But what happens to your assets after you’re gone? Answering tough questions like this is a necessary part of stewardship. A financial...

5 Financial Rules of Thumb: When They Work and When They Don’t

Financial rules of thumb help us make decisions, but if applied too broadly, they may underestimate or overestimate an individual’s needs. Which rules of thumb make sense and which don’t?  Here are six...

Debt Limit Primer: What Investors Need to Know

OverviewThe U.S. government hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit on January 19, 2023. Since then, the Department of the Treasury has been using extraordinary measures to pay its obligations. In early May, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen...

What Is Direct Indexing?

If you’re searching for an investment option that lets you strategically pay less in taxes while maintaining your equity market participation, consider direct indexing.  Research suggests that there’s a good...

How to Build a Resilient Retirement Plan

Should you fear for your financial future? When words like “recession” make the headlines, it’s easy to believe that fear is warranted. The media wants you to constantly question: If a recession does come, is your...

An Overlooked Tax Strategy: Tax-Loss Harvesting

Anytime we discuss finances, we should consider the tax implications of transactions throughout the year. Whether they occur through selling stocks or real estate, if you profit on a sale, that is a taxable gain, and the government...

Positioning and Outlook: Updated for Q2

Positioning and OutlookFactor investing is a strategy that selects securities based on factors that are associated with the potential for excess return and reduced risk. In addition to the 'Global Core - Main' allocation, Credent...

3 Ways to Make Taxes Easier in Retirement: Taxes & Retirement Explained

3 Ways to Make Taxes Easier in Retirement: Taxes & Retirement Explained   Do you ever worry that you’re not optimizing your taxes in retirement? That can change! Working with a financial expert is a great way to...

The Stock Market and the Economy Are Not the Same

Chart Content: Number of United States bank failures during former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker’s term.Chart Significance: Given inflation’s sharp and persistent rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, the media has...

The Failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)

One of the nation’s largest banking institutions collapsed last week in what turned out to be the second-biggest collapse in U.S. history. The bank’s failure occurred amidst a slew of released economic data points that...

2024: The Year of the Recession?

Chart Content: The Conference Board Present Situation Index, Expectations Index, and the difference between the two.Chart Significance: Each month, the Conference Board releases the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index...

Inflation Remains Poised for Strong Downside

Chart Content: Twenty-year normalized comparison of inflation (Consumer Price Index) to ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid. Originally released in November 2022 with data now updated through January 2023. The relevance of the data remains...

Sentiment and Market Returns

2022 was a tough year for investors with both stocks and bonds down sharply from all-time highs. Add to that decades-high inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, it may come to no surprise that consumer...

A Forthcoming Recession…Eventually

The economic backdrop thus far in 2023 has once again brought to light a powerful and recurring reminder we must all acknowledge. Simply because the masses expect something to happen is not a reason for it to occur. Such a statement...

The Noise of Short-Term Volatility

Equity market volatility can often instill doubt in the ability of attaining positive long-term returns as risk-seeking investors. In fact, sharp decreases over shorter time frames can have a much greater fear impact than an elongated...

Real Estate and Inflation

Conventional wisdom suggests that investing in residential real estate during times of inflationary pressures may yield a more favorable total return outcome than being invested in stocks. The observed reality, however, is less...

Personal Savings Rate, Cash Assets, and Revolving Credit

The recent breakdown in the U.S. personal savings rate to near record lows has fueled the narrative that consumers are in dire need of cash heading into 2023. This is troublesome because consumer spending accounts for approximately two...

Capital Market Assumptions

Capital Market Expectations & Projected Portfolio ReturnsWhile Credent Wealth Management does not generate capital market expectations of our own, we do find it useful to aggregate data from numerous reputable financial institutions as...

Annual Returns

2022 was a challenging year for investors. U.S. equities fell 19%, its worst return since 2008, while U.S. Treasuries fell 12% as the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed from 1.5% to 3.8%. It was a year dominated by...

Our View of 2023

Peak to Trough S&P 500 Declines during Recessions

Chart Content: S&P 500 performance measurements during two key intervals. The first being the period between the market’s peak and that of he start of a recession, and the second being the total peak-to-trough market...

Freight Tonnage as a Historical Recession Gauge

The transportation of goods across the country is something you likely witness on a daily basis. Hundreds of thousands of tons make their way across our highways on a monthly basis, involving hundreds of different carriers while...

International Diversification Over-Time

2022 serves as a strong reminder that financial markets can be volatile by nature and that different asset classes move in and out of favor over time. Today’s weekly market commentary highlights the benefits of global...

Inflation Remains Poised for Strong Downside

Chart Content: Twenty-year comparison of inflation (Consumer Price Index) to ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid.Chart Significance: Inflation in the United States has historically correlated positively with the rise, and drop, in the prices...

U.S. Money Market Assets

Volatility across capital markets is often a sign of cash exiting or entering a specific asset class, which can be defined as exposure to stocks, bonds, commodities, or any other investment that carries a reasonable liquidity profile....

S&P 500 Performance During Midterm Election Years

The S&P 500 has historically remained neutral on average through the third quarter in midterm election years before gaining traction in the fourth quarter while at the same time experiencing heightened volatility throughout the year....

Equity Returns and Economic Recessions

The idea of an economic recession carries a sense of fear among investors. Is that fear rationally justified? Perhaps. A “technical” recession becomes reality after two consecutive quarters of contracting gross...

U.S. Labor Market Conditions

The U.S. Labor Market Chart Book is a deep dive into labor market conditions, which continue to signal overwhelming tightness, putting upward pressure on wage growth and inflation despite the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance. The...

The Rise and Fall of Shipping Costs

Chart Content: Five-year snapshot of global shipping rates via container ships.Chart Significance: The supply chain issues that emerged during the depths of the COVID pandemic resulted in shortages of goods and services in a way that...

U.S. Dollar Dominance

Chart Content: Year to date performance differentials between the Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen, and U.S. Dollar.Chart Significance: The U.S. Dollar’s relentless climb since the beginning of 2022 is tightening financial...

Volatility Never Feels Normal

Stock market volatility has resurfaced, and it bears significance to gauge its source and its potential for sustained downside. We’re living in a short-term era of ambiguity that is exacerbated by the anticipated actions of the...

Assessing the Correction

Chart Content: Annualized S&P 500 Index returns over the past 25 years compared to annualized S&P 500 Index returns over the same timeframe when missing the top 10, 20, 30, and 40 days in the marketChart Significance: Missing the best...

Gold and Inflation

Conventional wisdom suggests that investing in gold during times of inflationary pressures may yield a more favorable total return outcome than being invested in stocks. The observed reality, however, is less exciting. In tracking the...

Time IN the Market is More Important Than TIMING the Market

Time in the MarketChart Content: Annualized S&P 500 Index returns over the past 25 years compared to annualized S&P 500 Index returns over the same timeframe when missing the top 10, 20, 30, and 40 days in the marketChart Significance:...

Short Term Pessimism Following Annual Federal Reserve Meeting

Returns after Volatility:Interest rates are heading higher:The reality of interest rates is simple, despite the on-going rhetoric that attempts to overcomplicate its narrative. If the expectation for economic growthis that it will...

Three Key Charts on Inflation

Chart Content: Measures of inflation and components of the consumer price index (CPI).Chart Significance: U.S. headline consumer prices eased to a lower than expected 8.5% year over year in July, from a four decade high of 9.1% in June...

Peak To Trough Declines During Recession

Chart Content: S&P 500 performance measurements during two key intervals. The first being the period between the market’s peak and that of the start of a recession, and the second being the total peak-to-trough market downside...

S&P 500 Performance and Recessions

Chief Investment Officer Edison Byzyka, CFA and CEO David Hefty, CFP® walk you through understanding what the announcement of a recession means & how this may impact investing for the foreseeable future.Recessions are often...

S&P 500 Performance During Midterm Election Years

 the S&P 500 has historically remained neutral on average through the third quarter in midterm election years before gaining traction in the fourth quarter while at the same time experiencing heightened volatility throughout the...

Two Key Charts on Inflation

Chart Content: Measures of core goods inflation and core services inflationChart Significance: Fiscal stimulus provided during the COVID pandemic combined with government mandated lockdowns resulted in unprecedented demand for consumer...

Sentiment And Market Returns

2022 has been a tough year for investors with both stocks and bonds down sharply from recent highs. Add to that decades-high inflation, an aggressive Federal Reserve, COVID-19 restrictions, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, it may come...

Six Key Charts On Recessions

Executive SummaryThe Federal Reserve and other central banks have begun to raise interest rates to temper global inflation. This restrictive monetary policy will cause global growth to slow, triggering markets to worry more about...

Assessing The Correction

Chart Content: Rolling 12-month S&P 500 valuation based on realized earningsChart Significance: The recent volatility in the S&P 500 has resulted in valuation downside that remains three times (3x) the pace of that experienced during...

An Update On Volatility

Volatility is almost always associated with losing value. Although that’s true for those investors that willfully liquidate their holdings, long‐term investors have historically seen tremendous benefits from times of equity...

Updated Snapshot Of March 2022 Commentary

Three Key Charts Of The Week

Revisiting Annual Volatility

Rising Rates, Economic Growth, And Equity Markets

Five Key Charts On Inflation

Revisiting Focusing On Consumers

Five Charts Of The Week

Annual Volatility

U.S. Money Market Assets

The Allure Of Volatility - Charts Edition

The Russia/Ukraine Conflict And Portfolio Positioning

Annual Volatility

Expect Slowing Growth - No Need For Panic

S&P 500 Volatility During Midterm Election Years

Volatility Never Feels Normal

Inflation In Perspective