The Personal Wealth Coach

Securities markets in the United States are regulated under the authority of the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934, as amended. U.S. regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and FINRA were created by the Securities Act of 1933 in response to illicit acts leading up to the stock market crash of 1929. Those agencies continue to be the fo...

One of the prime missions of the Federal Reserve Board is to maintain the value of the dollar; adjusting the money supply to hold a dependable value. Did the Fed create the current surge in inflation? Given that inflation is at high levels for all major international currencies, probably not. Rather, the surge of inflation we are experiencing was more likely caused by the pandemic and the supply c...

The U.S. Consumer Price Index is up 7% from one year ago, the highest single-year increase since 1982. However, the current high inflation is unlikely to persist as the prime drivers appear to be coming from used cars and trucks, up over 37%, and fuel prices, up by about 50%. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happened in the Market This Week? (1...

Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that claim to be “ESG” (environmental, social, and governance) have seen a high volume of retail purchases in the past few years. Unfortunately, there is no generally recognized definition for the term “ESG” when used with investments, and more than a few securities with that tag have been shown to have poor ESG characteristics. Welcome to another episode with Jeff...

The Conference Board Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) remains positive, suggesting the economy will continue to grow over the next several months. In the six decades since its inception, the LEI has never failed to give at least several months warning before the U.S. economy entered into a recession.  Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Are W...

As the Omicron variant surged across the country, the S&P 500 experienced a decline not unlike what we saw in October when the Delta variant was spreading. A near-correction decline in market values is not pleasant, but the stock market needs such things from time to time to clear out unprofitable companies and continue to grow over the long-term.   Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake Mc...

Big money is being invested in opposing directions in big city real estate. One group is betting on a return to normal office behavior and is renovating and building more office space while the other side is focused on repurposing empty office buildings as living spaces. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happens to the U.S. if Russia is removed...

Based on similar periods in economic history, the current surge in inflation may be a temporary phenomenon, lasting a couple of years but not likely to become a wage-price spiral. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: The U.S. Series I Savings Bonds @4:32 Historical cycles of Interest Rates @13:10 Can Labor Shortages Cause the repeat of 1970s and 1980s i...

Unlike the bull market of the late 1990s, there are actually more stocks that declined in 2021 than rose. In the bull market of the 1990s that ended with a severe market plunge in 2000-2002, almost all stocks rose dramatically regardless of whether they were likely to be profitable. That leaves room for further gains in the market.  Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC!...

Why the traditional portfolio composed of 60% stocks and 40% bonds is unlikely to be effective into the near future. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Financial Guardrails @3:53 The 60/40 portfolio and the 80/20 portfolio @9:24 And more! This episode was recorded on December 4th, 2021. If you would like to contact us, please send an email to us at  J...

Market moves are commonly blamed on some event or other apparent cause, however; many market moves are just random noise. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Omicron Variant @1:33 Big Tech Companies are Rebranding Themselves @8:10 Seasonal Adjustment @17:15 What Happened to Cryptocurrency? @29:57 And more! This episode was recorded on December 4th, 202...

Whether it’s a good economy or a bad economy, it is important to have short-term cash reserves on hand, live within your means, be diversified, and invest for the long-term. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happened in the Market This Week? (11/29 – 12/3) @8:02 Why Has The Turkish Lira Been So Volatile? @19:24 The Weekly Wrap-up by Jeff @31:43...

A properly constructed and custodially held self-directed IRA can hold assets like precious metals, cattle, oil, or even houses, but a strict adherence to the rules is required to prevent it from being disqualified and the owner incurring severe penalties. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Can you put precious metals or other alternative investments...

If you are retired or thinking about retiring and think that the old 60% stock and 40% bond portfolio is the way to go because it worked in the past, you may be in for a disappointment. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Solar Industry @4:08 Big Companies Are Splitting @15:20 Ongoing Shortage of Labor @28:40 Fundamental Changes Facing Investors @33:38...

In short, ongoing supply chain issues and labor shortages are still challenging our economy but overall, the economy is humming nicely. There are a lot of positive indications that make an optimistic economist think we might be out of these challenges sometime next year.   Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happened in the Market This Week? (11/8...

There is one crucial thing that has not changed over the years about personal finance. First, get your savings in cash in a bank or somewhere safe to cover your near-term emergencies expenses. Make sure that you are living within your means, not overfilling your credit cards. Then start allocating money for your future. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episo...

This Pandemic has changed the way people think about their money. We started accumulating more cash than we have in decades. If we expect to keep receiving stimulus checks, we would not see 9% savings rate.    Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Why Did the Market Go Up Even After the Fed Reduced the Stimulus Payments? @4:55 Update on Inflation @27:27...

The decline in productivity in the third quarter of 2021 was probably because we were hiring many new employees who needed training and that training took experienced employees away from productive work to do the training. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happened in the Market This Week? (11/1- 11/5) @7:23 The Employment Situation Summary Was...

What is Inflation? Explaining everything about Inflation is extremely hard, but the concept of Inflation can be simplified. Inflation happens anytime you find yourself paying more for any product or service that hasn’t gotten any better than it was.   Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Let’s Talk About the Concept of Inflation @1:18 Current Inflation...

There is a lot of confusion about ESG simply because ESG is easy to say but hard to prove. Based on history, it has been clear that if you are limiting the field of your investments, your performance would likely suffer compared to people who have a whole field open to them.   Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What is ESG Investing (Environmental Soc...

Companies such as Tesla and American Express have reported their earnings recently. So far, the earnings across the S&P 500 were being reported higher than the market had risen during that time. Based on these new earnings, the market still looks fairly priced. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happened in the Market? (10/18 – 10/22) @7:59 And m...

Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Is a Digital Dollar? How Does it Work? @1:16 This episode was recorded on September 11th, 2021. If you would like to contact us, please send an email to us at  Jeff@tpwc.com  or  Jake@tpwc.com You can also send a message to us through the contact form on our website (tpwc.com).  We are happy to address any of yo...

People who attempt to time the market historically have had the poorest returns of any identified group of investors while well-diversified investors who have ridden out downturns have generally gone on to positive returns. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: Big Picture in the Global Economy @0:54 Be Prepared For a New Bill @18:30 Intel Will Invest Up...

For the past several decades, when the stock market has declined, the bond market has risen, but that relationship appears to have broken down in the recent past. Welcome to another episode with Jeff and Jake McClure from TPWC! In this episode: What Happened in the Market This Week? (9/6 – 9/10) @4:36 What You Should Know About El Salvador @16:30 Wrap-up by Jeff McClure @26:02 And more! This episo...

Disability sometimes leads to innovation. When the old ways don’t work as well and there is a breakdown, in a free enterprise system like ours, it tends to lead to new inventions, new methods, and a technological leap forward. That is how we innovate in America. Until something doesn’t work anymore, we tend to stick with it, but when the need arises, we invent.  Welcome to another episode with Jef...