The P&A Blog
Grateful
Based on the popularity of Blake’s COVID-free blog post last month, we’re following up with two more related topics. First, we asked our team to tell you how they’re spending their time differently now, i.e. activities they’ve picked up or rediscovered during the...
A paperwork story
A husband and wife met with us a couple times and they’re ready to become our client. P&A has checked the boxes for a simple pricing structure, a fiduciary relationship, and full transparency. They’re also drawn to our financial planning services and being able...
How we’re spending our time
Based on the popularity of Blake’s COVID-free blog post last month, we’re following up with two more related topics. For this post, we asked our team to tell you how they’re spending their time differently now, i.e. activities they’ve picked up or rediscovered during...
The market isn’t the economy
Over the last six weeks, 30 million people have filed for unemployment…a staggering number. Yet over the same time period, the S&P 500 is up 22%, and from the March 23rd low, the stock market is up 31%. How can this be? Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had...
A look back
In our 25-year history, we’ve never been busier than we were from late February through early April 2020. The markets provided us with plenty of portfolio work, not to mention the number of client conversations we’ve had over the last 60 days. Our team has done a...
529 Plan Playbook
Are you a parent or grandparent who desires to save for a minor’s future college expenses? 529 Plans are a great investment vehicle to do so. And, you may get a current tax benefit to boot. We don’t custody or actively manage 529 accounts, but we can help you...
2020 – 1st Quarter Letter – COVID-19
The latest P&A quarterly letter to clients is available in PDF form. You can download it here. Topics include a look at the market over the past few months, how portfolios work and how they're measured, and what implications exist with COVID-19 currently in the...
A COVID-19-free blog post
Are you a little exhausted by all the emails, news articles, and notifications surrounding COVID-19? Us, too. Side note: Were you surprised to find out how many company email lists you are actually on? Thus, we give you a 100% COVID-19-free blog post, with fun...
A COVID-19 update from P&A
Out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our clients, team members, and community, we have taken several steps to protect you and ourselves from the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. In taking these actions, we are maintaining...
A systematic and unemotional approach
On February 28th, we posted What not to do right now to the P&A Blog. The advice we posed in this article hasn’t changed. That said, there have been several drastic measures that have occurred around the country since then to contain the novel coronavirus:...
How markets work
Like anyone else, I watch TV. However, I might be a tad more discriminating about the “facts” I allow to invade my cranium. Previously mentioned in my scribblings is a passion for how things work. It is not unusual for me to take things apart before using them. ...
What not to do right now
This week has been a tough one. Markets went from all-time highs to correction territory (down 10%) in just six trading days. Rarely will you see money taken away so quickly. And since our personal monies are invested in the same stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and...
Key considerations for Roth vs. Traditional IRA contributions
One of the questions we often hear from our P&A Clients is, “Which is the better retirement account to put money into – a Roth or Traditional?” The answer to this question is, most often, “It depends.” There are many factors to consider in making the decision,...
Impacts of the SECURE Act & the “Stretch IRA”
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act became effective January 1, 2020. How does this new law affect you with regards to the “Stretch IRA”? What’s in the past… Prior to 2020, IRA and ROTH accounts could be used as a powerful...
Winter 2020 Book Reviews
Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber By Mike Isaac For those of you who read Bad Blood by John Carreyou, Super Pumped is of a similar vein (pun intended). The former is a story about a visionary founder who refused to accept that her revolutionary product simply didn’t...
P&A’s Down 20 Rule
One of Wall Street’s most famous sayings is “cut your losses and let your profits run.” In reality, many investors do the opposite, selling winners too early and holding onto losing positions too long (what’s known as the disposition effect). Behavioral finance...
2019 – 4th Quarter Letter – Lunch Pail Attitude
The latest P&A Quarterly Letter to clients is available in PDF form. You can download it here. Topics include a look back on markets during 2019, the Top Down vs. Bottom Up approach to investing, and P&A's evolution of portfolio management over the years.
Key concepts about money to teach your kids
When it comes to money, it is never too early to start educating your kids and teaching them good habits. Here are a few concepts that some of us at P&A have implemented with our own kids. If you are a parent, or even a grandparent, hopefully these concepts are...
