If you’re looking at a short-term investment time horizon and want a liquid market, meaning you can easily pull your money out if you choose to, a money market fund can be a good investment vehicle. Per the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), money market funds developed in the 1970s “as an option for…

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Go to almost any store or website that sells something—anything—and you will find several other products for purchase. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find any place that sells one thing and one thing only. There is a huge, perhaps business-saving reason for this: having a diversified product line can mitigate risk and protect…

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Cyclical stocks get their name because they usually follow the cycle of the overall economy—with ups and downs charting economic expansions and peaks, recessions, and recovery periods. They’re good to include in your investment portfolio during periods of economic prosperity but perhaps not during a recession or economic uncertainty. According to Investopedia, “A cyclical stock is a stock…

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Defensive stocks are precisely what their name implies—they defensively strategize your investment portfolio during an economic downturn or when the overall stock market isn’t doing so hot. Defensive stocks are usually in sectors that provide essential goods and services. Companies with defensive stocks are likely to remain in operation regardless of what may be happening…

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The reality is that no market goes straight up without pulling back or correcting itself. The market can be an individual stock, an index such as the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrial Average, or a bond. It doesn’t matter the instrument; at some point, it will pull back—and that’s completely normal and relatively common.…

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Volatile stock markets, rising interest rates, and the highest inflation rates in 40 years bring one nagging question to the front of Americans’ minds: Are we in a recession? What Is a Recession? Definitions abound, so let’s discuss what a recession is—simply put, a recession is when the economy starts shrinking and ends when an…

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Recent research from Northwestern Mutual in its 2021 Planning and Progress Study found that just 38% of survey respondents were working with a financial advisor, though up from 29% pre-pandemic. With the emergence—and prevalence—of robo-advisors, where investing can be done with the click of a button on an app, the common question is, are financial/investment…

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In 2021, the U.S. stock market experienced record years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic persisting. The S&P 500 had more than 70 all-time highs—second only to its performance in 1995—and gained 26.9% by years’ end. Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq had a great year, gaining 18.7% and 21.4%, respectively. Most economists agree that…

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The common question—and debate—among stock market investors: Is growth investing or value investing better for your portfolio? Whether growth or value outperforms depends solely on the time period evaluated—historically, shorter time periods tend to favor growth in recent years while longer time periods tend to favor value stocks. According to Forbes, value investing has returned…

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