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Clearly, Not Everyone Is Getting Rich Off The Stock Market

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Well, the NY Fed was out today with its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for Q4 2017. Clearly, Americans are in a lot of debt. Take a look. Just a couple of quick hits from the report. Total U.S. household debt rose $193 billion in the 4th quarter, to a new all-time peak of $13.15 trillion. That's 17.9% above the most recent trough in Q2 2013. Broken down by segment, what do you suppose was the largest gain in percentage terms? Credit cards, with a 3.2% increase. In the picture above, the widening gap represented by the red arrows reflects the fact that non-housing debt is rising at a faster pace than housing debt. Here's what's troubling about that. Below is a picture of the stock market, as represented by the S&P 500 index, over that same period; from the most recent credit trough in Q2 2013 to the end of 2017. And thus, the title of this article. Over that period, the S&P 500 index rose by 75%; from roughly 1,600 to 2,800. Apparently, ho
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Born In The USA - Best Domestic Stock ETFs For Your Portfolio

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I got to thinking about Bruce Springsteen's iconic song Born in the U.S.A. 

Why? Because, for most U.S. investors, the first ETF you should add to your portfolio should be a top-quality U.S. total stock market ETF. Really, this forms the foundation for any well-diversified portfolio.

There are several worthy competitors in the marketplace. And, they may be even more worthy if your brokerage offers commission-free trading in these ETFs; particularly if one of your goals is to invest regularly and in small increments.

In this recent article I wrote for Seeking Alpha, I briefly review 5 such ETFs, pick 3 winners and 2 runner-ups, and briefly reference a 6th just for good measure.

I hope you enjoy.



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Clearly, Not Everyone Is Getting Rich Off The Stock Market

By -
Image
Well, the NY Fed was out today with its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for Q4 2017. Clearly, Americans are in a lot of debt. Take a look. Just a couple of quick hits from the report. Total U.S. household debt rose $193 billion in the 4th quarter, to a new all-time peak of $13.15 trillion. That's 17.9% above the most recent trough in Q2 2013. Broken down by segment, what do you suppose was the largest gain in percentage terms? Credit cards, with a 3.2% increase. In the picture above, the widening gap represented by the red arrows reflects the fact that non-housing debt is rising at a faster pace than housing debt. Here's what's troubling about that. Below is a picture of the stock market, as represented by the S&P 500 index, over that same period; from the most recent credit trough in Q2 2013 to the end of 2017. And thus, the title of this article. Over that period, the S&P 500 index rose by 75%; from roughly 1,600 to 2,800. Apparently, ho
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Best iShares ETFs - A Core Portfolio For Fidelity Brokerage Clients

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This article is designed for individuals who are Fidelity Brokerage clients, as I am, and who have an interest in building a low-cost, diversified ETF portfolio. Here are just a couple of very valid scenarios for considering this subject: You have a 401(k) account from a former employer which you have just left sitting there because you don't quite know what to do with the funds. Likely, you are paying annual fees of 1-2% on those investments. You may be able to roll those funds into a Fidelity IRA and create a core ETF portfolio with an overall expense ratio of perhaps one-tenth that amount, with the difference going straight into your pocket. You already have, or wish to establish, a non-retirement investment account at Fidelity. You wish to invest in modest monthly increments while ensuring that your investments are well-diversified. NOTE: If you are new to ETFs, you can learn a little more about them here . However, since ETFs trade just like stocks, trading commissi
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Here's What It Takes To Afford The Median Home In San Francisco

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Couldn't help but notice this article from Bloomberg the other day featuring the fact that San Francisco's median home price just hit a new high of $1.6 million. Just to make sure we're clear on terms, median price means that price at which half the transactions are higher and half the transactions are lower . Put a different way, this means that 1 out of every 2 homes currently available for sale in San Francisco is priced at $1.6 million or higher. I got curious as to what that implies about affordability. What does it take, in the current mortgage rate environment, to purchase such a home? Here's the "standard" answer, from bankrate.com . As it turns out, at least from the terms available on this website, one must be able to put down 20% to qualify for the 30-year jumbo loan needed to buy such a home. So, you have to be able to come up with $320,000 just to play. Assuming you can pony up that sort of cash, you get the privilege of tying yourse
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