Author: Matt Thalman

Money Apparently Can Buy Happiness

Posted on by Matt Thalman

A recently published paper by Matthew Killingsworth, a senior psychology fellow at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, concludes that individuals with higher income often reported increased levels of day-to-day happiness and overall life fulfillment.

Previous research done at Princeton University found that happiness sort of plateaued once annual income reached around $75,000 per year. But Killingsworth believes that to be false and thinks the correlation between happiness and income can move higher in tandem indefinitely. He doesn't think that money and happiness are mutually exclusive. However, he does feel that people with higher incomes often feel they have more control over their lives.

The thinking is that the more money you make, the more choices you available to you during your everyday life. For example, it could be something as small as whether or not you buy organic food. Maybe a little bigger such as your range of 'affordable' cars becomes larger. Your living situation changes because you can afford a home or rent closer to where you work, thus reducing your commute. Killingsworth goes on to point out things like someone quitting a job or even ending a relationship, two things that may become 'easier' if your income is higher.

Obviously, not everyone that responded to the survey questions from Killingsworth reported higher happiness with higher incomes. Still, those who said financial security was important to them overwhelmingly showed a correlation to higher happiness with higher levels of income. However, Killingsworth also pointed out that some individuals with very low levels of income report high levels of happiness. He concludes that more money does buy happiness, but money is not the secret to happiness. Continue reading "Money Apparently Can Buy Happiness" →

A New Way To Turn Your Portfolio Green

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Over the last few years, the move to "go green" with everything from vehicles, homes, food, and beyond has also hit the financial markets. But it may be harder than you think to actually find green investments since so many of the green companies still have a large carbon footprint.

Take the wind and solar companies and all the talk about how much dirty energy is used to make a windmill. Or how the solar industry is much dirtier than most would imagine due to the way solar panels are made and all the toxic materials that are inside solar panels, which could cause an environmental issue if the panel breaks.

With that said, we may finally have a way to invest in green initiatives and know that what we are investing in truly is green and promoting a reduced carbon footprint without many hidden dirty secrets.

The new investment option I am speaking of is the Continue reading "A New Way To Turn Your Portfolio Green" →

New ETFs You May Want To Own

Posted on by Matt Thalman

New ETFs are popping up all the time. This is partially due to the ease of the process of opening a new product but largely because investors are looking for new ways to play different emerging trends and new technologies. Of course, it's unlikely all the new ETF options will last the test of time; just look at how many ETFs close each year, but that doesn’t stop fund managers from opening new ones like it's going out of style. I guess the thinking is, ‘throw as many things at the board and see what sticks.’

But from an investor's point of view, it's not costing you anything unless you invest in something that fails, and it gives us a lot more options to choose from. So with that in mind, let's take a look at a few of the newer ETFs to hit the market; perhaps you may find one interesting enough to invest in or at least follow.

The first one that I would like to highlight is the iShares Emergent Food and AgTech Multisector ETF (IVEG). The fund will invest in companies that focus on agriculture technology, alternative proteins, nutritional innovation and safety, and sustainable food production and packaging. For the fund to hold a company, it must derive revenues from one of those themes; they also must expect to see profits from one of the themes increase by at least 5% during the coming 5-year period. The fund will have an expense ratio of 0.47%.

From 2010 to 2050, food demand is expected to increase by 56% worldwide. Furthermore, it is believed that Continue reading "New ETFs You May Want To Own" →

Situation With Russian ETFs Highlights A Bid Risk

Posted on by Matt Thalman

As the world watches Russian troops attack Ukraine, global leaders impose sanctions on Russia, as opposed to sending military personnel to assist the Ukrainian people with repelling Russian forces. Over the long term, these sanctions may impose more damage on Russia and the companies that lay within its borders than troops perhaps could. It is unknown, though, at this time, what the total economic toll of these sanctions will be on Russia and its economy; however, most analysts feel it will be substantial.

But what may be more destructive long-term for Russia is not what is happening to the country today but what may not happen to Russia in the future, new development and investing. The Russian stock market shut down shortly after Russian troops entered Ukraine. But not only did Russian stocks stop trading in Russia, but also in the US and other markets worldwide. Furthermore, countless foreign businesses that had operations in Russia have pulled out and no longer operate their stores, shops, and factories in the country.

So, both the individual business investments have walked away from Russia, and the world financial markets have essentially cut Russia off from capital. This lack of capital both from the smaller individual standpoint and the larger global point of view, could put Russia in a tight spot in years to come as the country and its businesses may struggle to grow and re-invest in themselves without the support of foreign investment. Continue reading "Situation With Russian ETFs Highlights A Bid Risk" →

ETFs To Invest In When Interest Rates Are Rising

Posted on by Matt Thalman

In March, the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates for the first time since the Covid-19 Pandemic began. The timing of the interest rate hike was needed as inflation has grown during the pandemic for many reasons. Some believe inflation is on the brink of running out of control, which has Federal Reserve members, economists, and those who work in the financial industry all making a case for more aggressive interest rate increases in the future.

With inflation above 7%, not many people would argue that interest rates need to increase in order to slow and eventually lower the inflation rate. Higher interest rates lower the number of large purchases consumers will make; think cars and homes. But high-interest rates do a similar thing to businesses; it reduces the amount they are willing to spend or reinvest in their company. These two factors together typically end up pushing the economy into a recession of some sort once and if interest rates slow the economy too much.

Tampering with interest rates is a double edge sword; you go too far in one direction, and inflation grows; too far in the other direction, and you send the economy into a recession. Unfortunately, though, we are at a point where the Fed almost has to raise rates in order to slow inflation to a more reasonable level. Continue reading "ETFs To Invest In When Interest Rates Are Rising" →