What is the yield curve (and why does it matter)?
Every decade or so, economists and analysts start talking about the yield curve. As jargon goes, “yield curve” is one of the worst offenders. However, when you look closely at how interest rates work, it’s easy to understand why the yield curve is important, and why many traders and investors use it to help forecast […]
October 2024 Market Update
September equity markets ended the month in positive territory, but with volatility increased. The VIX, the markets “fear index” closed higher than last month, at 16.73, up from 15.00. Intramonth, the values ranged from a high of 23.76 and a low of 14.90. September’s somewhat surprisingly 50-basis point reduction in interest rates kicked of the […]
Hedge funds, explained.
If your only reference point for hedge funds is pop culture, it can be easy to misunderstand what they are and how they work. From Game Stop to George Soros and the Big Short, Hollywood and pop culture love to focus on eye popping stories about isolated funds. Most active hedge funds are less dramatic […]
Do you have an estate plan?
An estate plan can help create security for your family. Yet misconceptions surround estate planning. Many people think you need to be ultra-wealthy to create one, or that they’re only relevant if you have dependent children. However, an estate plan can be helpful in a variety of different scenarios. For instance, a healthcare directive can […]
Are commodities a golden opportunity?
Every few years, three precious medals hold the world’s attention: gold, silver, and bronze. The metals used in those Olympic prizes, however, may be more important in terms of how they impact traders, investors, the global economy, and even how we think about money. While stocks and bonds tend to be the core building blocks […]
September 2024 Market Update
As summer ends and September begins, attention is focused on the long-anticipated change in the Fed’s monetary policy, from holding rates steady to returning rates to lower levels. July and August non-farm payrolls indicate a slowing labor market, but other economic indicators are holding steady and show an economy that is still solid. While there […]
The state of the economy
Politicians love to throw around economic statistics on the campaign trail. In the runup to an election we tend to hear about American jobs, small businesses as the backbone of the economy, inflation, government spending, and more. It can be difficult to sort through various talking points to ascertain what’s happening in the economy. To […]
Send your kid to college: A checklist
Sending your child to college tends to come with complex emotions—they’re entering the “adult” phase of their lives but may still be dependent on you in many ways. This checklist can help you set them (and you!) up for a successful transition. Download an interactive PDF version of this checklist and check things off as […]
Market Update August 2024
After weeks of Olympic-themed press reports about the Fed “sticking the (soft) landing” and safely guiding the economy to a place where inflation is coming down and growth is holding off recession, one very bad labor report flipped the script. The threat of recession is not just in the future, it may be here now, […]
How do you build a balanced portfolio?
When it comes to investing, rebalancing your portfolio can be integral to achieving your goal. However, it’s discussed far less frequently than performance data or diversification. We wanted to take a moment to highlight why rebalancing is so important. We’ll also dig into how we rebalance client portfolios at Quorum. When we work with clients, […]