A balloon payment is a lump sum payment that is significantly larger than the monthly payments and paid at the end of a loan’s term. Unlike loans that have a series of fixed payments to pay off the balance of the loan, a loan that includes a balloon payment is made up of lower fixed payments and a final larger payment.
Today’s chart comes from VettaFi. Fixed income exchange traded funds (aka ETFs) have taken in over $1 trillion in assets over the last seven years, and only had three months of outflows.
This chart comes from the Visual Capitalist. Since 1950, the average economic expansion lasts 67 months. The average recession, though painful, only lasts 11 months.
As of today, small- and mid-cap stocks on a year-to-date basis are performing better than their large-cap counterparts by 3% and 2%, respectively.
There is an ebb and flow but going all the way back to 1994 small- and mid-cap stocks have outperformed large-cap stocks by an annual 0.66% and 1.49%, respectively. Financial theory supports, and so far this year it is also true, that when you add them to your portfolio they lower your risk due to the additional diversification.
Since this follows our motto of obtaining the “highest returns, for the least amount of risk,” we include small- and mid-cap stocks in all our portfolios.
One of our clients calls this the “Chiclets Chart” because of its resemblance to that classic brand of candy-coated chewing gum.
Today’s chart from Morningstar shows annual net flows into passive funds (in purple) vs. active funds (in orange), and their dominance for the last 11 years.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) helps small businesses lock in funding by setting guidelines for loans and reducing lender risk. SBA loan programs provide financial support to small businesses by helping build capital, recover from disasters, purchase real estate, and more.
Estate planning is an important subject that almost everyone—but especially older people—needs to address. Many believe that estate planning is for those with substantial means. However, estate planning determines how an individual’s assets are preserved, distributed, and managed, so even people with assets limited to a residence, bank accounts, and a retirement plan need to form a plan.
If you have typed your questions about Roth IRA retirement plans into Google, you have most likely come across articles from the IRS that detail the retirement plans in ways that aren't exactly reader friendly.
Sometimes, the easiest way to understand Roth IRA retirement plans is to have a question and answer session with a knowledgeable source. Consider this blog post one of those “conversations.”
Here are four frequently asked Roth IRA questions and answers.
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