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Memorial Day: It’s Our Duty to Remember – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
In 1945 John Huston, who had just directed The Maltese Falcon, produced a documentary about the Allies’ fight to break through the German army’s “Winter Line” in southern Italy. The film was called The Battle of San Pietro. It documented the retaking of a single, heavily defended town, and covered the events of just nine days.1 But…
The Downside to Target Date Funds – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
Legendary infomercial pitchman Ron Popeil wasn’t just the inventor of the Chop-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and Mr. Microphone. He was also the creator of one of the greatest slogans in marketing: “Set it and forget it.” He used this tagline to sell his Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ, which moved more than 8 million units in the…
Do Declining Diesel Prices Predict a Recession? – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
Before the devastating tsunamis of 2004 rolled over the coastlands around the Indian Ocean, local animals seemed to sense the coming disaster. Eyewitnesses reported that elephants moved to higher ground, flamingos abandoned their low-lying nesting areas, and buffalo stampeded to a hilltop—in some cases hours before the deadly waves struck.1 Scientists are still trying to…
How Inflation Helps You Refine Your Priorities – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
The recent high inflation numbers have cooled a bit. Last month the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data release indicated prices are increasing at a 5% annual rate. This was a significant decrease from last summer’s spike of 9.1%.1 The CPI is based on an amalgamation of prices paid by consumers in 243 categories across 32 geographic…
How Does Gold Perform Historically as a Hedge Against Inflation? – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
Gold has been fascinating people for thousands of years.1 It never rusts or even tarnishes. And it’s soft enough to be worked into beautifully intricate designs. No wonder ancient rulers wanted their crowns, scepters, and even thrones covered in gold. Gold has been used as a currency for thousands of years. And in more recent times…
How Federal Reserve Decisions Are Causing Lottery Jackpots to Increase – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
The chance of winning a billion-dollar Powerball jackpot with a single ticket are mind-numbingly small. The odds are roughly 1 in 302.6 million. Put that into a calculator and you get .0000000033.1 By comparison, your chance of being struck by lightning in any given year is 1 in 1.2 million, more than 250 times greater.2 Part of…
Confidently Incorrect: The Decline of Financial Literacy – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
A friend tells the story about asking his neighbor to help him jumpstart an old car. The neighbor, who had pulled his truck into position to provide the power, took the jumper cables out of our friend’s hands and proceeded like he had done this procedure a hundred times before. He attached the black cable…
Nearly a Century Later the Great Depression Still Has Much to Teach Us – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
Many of us have lived through financial downturns that economists call recessions. But there’s a more serious kind of downturn that the experts call a depression. So, what’s the difference between the two? Economists often disagree on exact definitions. But there is an old joke they like to tell: A recession is when your neighbor…
Silicon Valley Bank Failure and Your Evidence Based Portfolio – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
Since late last week, there has been a bit of market turmoil related directly to the banking sector; more specifically, that federal regulators closed the 16th largest bank in the US, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). There is more than a little media coverage of the situation, so we won’t over-editorialize the situation or get too…
To Lower Your Financial Stress, Give Yourself Some Breathing Room – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
A friend recently returned from Ireland with a few scary stories. He and his wife had rented a car for a few days to explore some castles. Several of the old fortresses, they were told, were haunted. But ghosts in the towers were not the cause of their hair-raising experiences. It was the country roads…
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