In 1986 the Lost Angeles Lakers had what some were saying could be the best team in the history of basketball. They started the season hot, jumping out to a fantastic 29-5 record, but ultimately were eliminated in the playoffs before even playing for the NBA championship. The anointed “best team in the history of basketball” wasn’t even the best... Read More
For busy corporate executives, managing personal finances with the rigors of a demanding job can be a lot to handle. But what happens when requirements from the corporate office directly impact the family finances? In this post we’ll go under the hood to uncover the basics of a 10b5-1 Trading Plan and key considerations when faced with implementing one. What... Read More
For many corporate employees, the accumulation and growth of their employer’s stock over time becomes the source of significant wealth, but with that accumulation and growth the risk that comes along with investment concentration in a single company grows as well. In fact, it is not uncommon at all to review a long-time corporate employee’s balance sheet and find that... Read More
At Cordant we have the opportunity to work with many current or former Intel employees. With this opportunity comes the responsibility of ensuring that their financial plans, planning strategies, and retirement assets are up to speed with the ever-changing employee and retirement benefits programs. This year, being no different, Intel has communicated changes that impact both current employees and qualified... Read More
In Part 1, I explained at a high level the mechanics of how Cordant generates a paycheck for clients from their portfolios in retirement. In this “Part 2,” I want to follow up with examples of how we evaluate other available strategies and why we use the “total return” approach described in Part 1. We are continually researching and evaluating... Read More
Interest Rates and Stock Markets “Interest rates are bound to rise.” We’ve all heard this for the last 10 years. And while it may be true, it might not matter for long-term investors. In fact, contrary to popular belief, history tells us that the relationship between interest rates and stock market returns isn’t as powerful as we’ve been led to... Read More
Last month I wrote a blog post entitled “The best plan you can stick with.” The purpose was to highlight the fact that, an investment strategy that makes all the sense in the world on paper may not be a good strategy if you can’t stick to it when faced with the emotion that comes with the experience of real... Read More
At Cordant we have the opportunity to work with many current or former Intel employees. With this opportunity comes the responsibility of ensuring that their financial plans, planning strategies and retirement assets are up to speed with the ever-changing employee and retirement benefits programs. This year, being no different, Intel has communicated changes that impact both current employees and qualified... Read More
The market downturn this past month reminded me of this podcast that I recently listened to while driving home and the question that followed. During the podcast, Cliff Asness, a well-known hedge fund manager and founder of AQR Capital Management, discussed investment strategies that are based on the historical data and in theory, are very appealing. He joked however, that... Read More
In Portland, the seasons have changed. Local breweries boasting seasonal beers are now offering dark porters in place of pumpkin ales. Ugly Halloween costumes have been replaced by ugly sweaters. And while the season typically associated with Harvest is behind us, there is another type of harvesting season that should be in full swing - Tax Loss Harvesting (TLH). What... Read More
