Author: Matt Thalman

This Is Not The Time To Panic

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Almost the worst January in history! The streets are red, and everything looks like doom and gloom. Your account is off its highs, and nearly every day you log in to see what stock and ETF prices are doing, it only gets worse. The Federal Reserve is telling us they will raise interest rates all while inflation is higher than they expected it to be. It's hard to see what will stop the pain anytime soon, despite the occasional rally, green day.

However, this is not the time to panic.

Unless you started investing in the summer of 2020, you have seen this before. And unless you plan to stop investing, you will see this again in the future once this round of pain subsides.

First though, let me remind you where we came from and why in reality, this is not nearly as bad as it feels today. On February 10th, 2020, the S&P 500 was at 3,380; This was the top of the market before the Covid-19 pandemic started being felt by market participants. The bottom came about a month later, on March 16th, 2020, at 2,304. That is a 31% drop. Continue reading "This Is Not The Time To Panic" →

Worst Performing ETFs Of 2021

Posted on by Matt Thalman

As we look back at yet another pandemic year and yet another tough 12 months for many reasons, overall, the markets have learned to deal with the pandemic and the headline news stories about new variants and new covid restrictions. This is proven by the fact that the major indexes all performed very well in terms of a historical perspective. The S&P 500 (SP500) ended the year up 26.89%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 18.73%, and the NASDAQ (COMP) increased by 21.39% in 2021.

Two of the three, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones, outperformed their 2020 results in 2021, while the NASDAQ did well in 2021, but about half as well as it did in 2020. With those sorts of results, people may wonder how anyone could have lost money over the past 12 months, but depending on where and how you invested, you may be one of the unfortunate individuals who find yourself in that situation.

The start of a new year is a good time to review your investing thesis and try to pinpoint why some investments didn’t turn out the way you imagined they would. With that thinking in mind, let’s take a look at the top five worst performing ETFs of 2021 in a number of different categories that the average investor could have chosen from in 2021 to see if you owned any of them or if there was some sort of trend that we can learn from. Continue reading "Worst Performing ETFs Of 2021" →

Top Performing ETFs Of 2021

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Despite the major market crash in March, all of the major indexes ended 2020 in the green. The S&P 500 (SP500) ended the year up 26.89%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 18.73%, and the NASDAQ (COMP) increased by 21.39% in 2021. Despite what felt like a discount between technology stocks, the NASDAQ, and the market as a whole, the S&P 500, the technology-focused index, lagged the overall market.

While in 2020, it seems that no matter what you had invested in, you did well, 2021 was a bit different. 2021 was a little sector or momentum-driven as we saw the rise and fall of the meme stocks, the ever-fluctuating battle between the ‘stay at home’ stocks and the ‘re-opening trade’ stocks. So, depending on when you bought or sold stocks or funds, unfortunately, really dictated how well your portfolio did over the past year.

When you look back at the year now, did you match market returns, fall behind, or were you invested in stocks and ETFs that beat the averages? Let’s take a look at the top five best performing ETFs of 2021 in a number of different categories the average investor has to choose from.

The following table shows the performance of the top five best performing ETFs in 2021, as well as their performance over the last month, the last three months, the last five and ten years. Continue reading "Top Performing ETFs Of 2021" →

My Top Sector For 2022 And Beyond

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a number of supply chain and global shortages of different products. But one industry had a shortage of their product not only because of the pandemic-related supply chain problems but because of the rapid increase in demand for the product. More so, the product is seeing demand increases in not just one or two industries in which it serves. Still, nearly every single industry and these products are such items that you and I use literally countless times every single day.

Have you figured out the industry that I am talking about is semiconductors?

The global chip shortage has affected more than just computer sales, but vehicle sales, kitchen appliances, and much more due to a number of different factors that all hit the industry with demand, much around the same time. For example, the auto industry began increasing demand for chips due to more smart driving vehicles and even driverless technologies being options in new cars hitting the market. Kitchen appliances are also demanding more chips due to the "internet of things" movement, which now has nearly every device and appliance in our homes connected to the internet. We now not only have smartphones but smart refrigerators and ovens. Continue reading "My Top Sector For 2022 And Beyond" →

This ETF Is A Great Buy Right Now

Posted on by Matt Thalman

The relationship Americans have with their pets is, to be honest, strange. Humans have used and lived with animals for thousands of years. Animals, especially the ones we now refer to as pets, were seen as tools for humans to use to help them perform a task better and provide food. Dogs, in particular, have been used for hunting, herding other animals, used as a form of transportation (sled dogs), and used for protection. Dogs lived in 'dog houses' outside year-round; some still do. But, for the most part, dogs are no longer seen as a 'tool' to complete a task.

This doesn't mean dogs and other animals that we let live in our homes no longer serve a purpose because due to the pandemic and lock-downs, we have seen the importance of pets to many people, not only in the US but around the world. The companionship that dogs, cats, and other animals bring to our lives has grown more important over the past 2 years, and that's very clear based on the number from the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), which show that 23 million households acquired a pet during the pandemic. The ASPCA has also surveyed these pandemic pet owners and found that more than 85% of them are not reconsidering their pet ownership status in the near future. Meaning most of those 23 million new pet owners will remain pet owners for years to come.

Before the pandemic, research suggested that seven out of ten households in the US had a 'pet' in some form or fashion. If those figures are true, more households in the US have pets than have children. Continue reading "This ETF Is A Great Buy Right Now" →