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Stocks Rebound
U.S. stock indexes rose around 2%, recovering ground lost in the previous week’s retreat. At Friday’s close, the Dow eclipsed the record high that it had achieved just 11 days earlier, the S&P 500 finished 0.5% shy of its record, and the NASDAQ ended 1.5% below its highest-ever close.
The price of the most widely traded cryptocurrency rose to a record high for the third week in a row. After finishing the previous week at around $91,000, Bitcoin was trading above $99,000 on Friday afternoon. At the start of November, the price was around $70,000.
Rallies on Thursday and Friday for a U.S. small-cap stock benchmark, the Russell 2000, pushed the index to a weekly return of 4.5%—a result that offset the previous week’s 4.0% decline. Even with the earlier setback, the Russell 2000’s month-to-date gain for November was nearly 10% as of Friday’s close, owing in part to a small-cap surge just after this month’s U.S. election.
The first postelection reading from a gauge that tracks U.S. consumer sentiment showed a modest downturn relative to a preliminary reading from a consumer survey done the day before the November 5 vote. Friday’s final reading from the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed the gauge slipping to 71.8 from the 73.0 preliminary figure.
With nearly all third-quarter results in as of Friday, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average earnings gain of 5.8% over the same quarter a year earlier, according to the latest data from FactSet. If that positive result holds, it would mark the index’s fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth.
While the new week will bring Thursday’s U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, Tuesday and Wednesday will nevertheless be packed with potentially market-moving economic reports. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday will release minutes from the latest Fed policy meeting, while Wednesday will bring an inflation report and an updated government estimate of third-quarter GDP growth.
Source: John Hancock Investment Management
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Just as many express gratitude in their personal lives, the holidays are a good time to do so in our investing and financial lives. This is important because investors tend to focus only on what can go wrong. Even after two strong market years, there is no shortage of concerns on issues such as market fundamentals, the direction of the economy, the size of the national debt, global instability, and more.
While past performance is no guarantee of future success, what history shows is that staying focused on the long run is the best way to achieve financial goals. Over the course of days, weeks and months, markets can fluctuate significantly just as they did in April and August, or in 2020 and 2022. However, over longer time horizons, markets have tended to rise due to the strength of economic growth. What can investors pause to appreciate this holiday season?
First, the U.S. stock market has demonstrated impressive strength in 2024. This is due to robust corporate earnings, better-than-expected economic conditions, and improving investor confidence. The accompanying chart shows that except for one quarter, the last two years have experienced steady market returns. While technology and AI stocks have led the way, many other sectors have contributed this year. In fact, most parts of the market are positive year-to-date, and eight of the eleven S&P 500 sectors have generated double-digit returns.
The strong bull market since the end of 2022 does mean that valuations are no longer as attractive. The price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 is now 22.3, nearing both recent highs and the dot-com peak of 24.5.
Rather than a reason to avoid the stock market, stretched valuations are a reminder to hold a properly constructed portfolio. Owning stocks, or any risk asset, may need to be balanced with asset classes such as bonds to achieve portfolio goals, depending on your age, time horizon and risk tolerance. The end of the year is a perfect time to review your asset allocation, especially after this year’s market movements.
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How to Have an Estate or Tag Sale | |
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Estate and tag sales can be emotional experiences. Usually, these sales are scheduled around major life changes such as the need to:
- Relocate or downsize,
- Move to independent or assisted living, or
- Settle the estate of a loved one.
Organizing a sale is hard work, and parting with your belongings or those of a loved one is never easy, especially when they have sentimental value. That may be why many people opt to hire an estate planning company to manage these sales. The cost to do so is usually 30 percent to 40 percent of sale proceeds. However, estate sale companies “typically provide a gross sales minimum. This means that the total value of all the items to be sold must meet or exceed that value,” reported Doug Luftman of Trust & Will.
The other option is to organize and hold the sale yourself. If you choose that route, here are three tips that can help make an estate sale successful.
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Hire an appraiser. As the Antiques Roadshow demonstrates, it is difficult to know the value of some items. Undervaluation applies to antiques and everyday items. For instance, the portable ultrasound your uncle bought when he was recovering from surgery, which has been gathering dust on the shelf ever since, may be worth a whole lot more than you think it is. An appraiser can help ensure you don’t undervalue sales items, reported Heidi Mitchell in AARP Magazine.
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Promote the sale. Posting a hand-written sign near your sale site is unlikely to attract the number of buyers you need. Luftman recommended advertising your estate sale on social media sites and online marketplaces, as well as local newspapers. Mitchell suggested that the advertisements include hashtags for applicable key words. These may include #high-end, #designer, #one-of-a-kind, and #collectors.
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Choose payment options carefully. Some estate sale shoppers will have cash, others will want to pay digitally. Think carefully about what types of payment you will accept and the tools you will need to accept them, reported Patrick Villanova and Arturo Conde in SmartAsset. For instance, you will need to have change and a lock box on hand for cash transactions, and an app on a phone or tablet for digital transactions.
Organizing an estate sale on your own saves on cost, but requires planning and coordination, as well as a team to oversee the sale. Outsourcing the sale has a higher cost, but requires less time, effort, and emotional stress. Everyone needs to decide which approach is the best one for their situation.
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AJ Advisors
www.ajadvice.com
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Phone: (615) 709-8709
Fax: (615) 505-3306
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John Stauffer, CFP®
Partner
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Andrew Quinn, CFP®
Partner
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Past performance does not guarantee future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, strategy, or product (including those recommended or undertaken by AJ Advisors, LLC), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this communication will be profitable, equal any indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual circumstances, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this communication serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to their individual situation, they are encouraged to consult with the professional adviser of their choosing. AJ Advisors, LLC is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the content herein should be construed as legal or accounting advice. If you are an AJ Advisors, LLC client, please remember to contact the firm, in writing, if there are any changes in your financial situation or investment objectives or if you wish to impose, add, or modify any reasonable restrictions on our investment advisory services. Until so notified, AJ Advisors, LLC will continue to rely on the most recent information provided. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees continues to remain available upon request. | | | | |
