Young investors have many advantages on their side, including time. This long-term view can be used to their advantage if they can look past the blurred lines today between investing and gambling.

The AI trade was on full display in Q2 as microchips took center stage. During the quarter, the Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed 71%. What’s overshadowed by the SMH move is that we experienced one of the best quarters ever for the S&P 500 Index, which rose 15.2% for the quarter, and a general broadening out by the market.

The first quarter of the year was defined by a single geopolitical event and its cascading effects across asset classes. Oil rose an eye-opening 84% on the quarter while the S&P 500 Index fell -4.33%.

We’ve all been inundated of late with warnings of the “top-heavy” U.S. equity market. The data is clear - we have one of the most concentrated U.S. markets in history with over 35% of the market value in just 10 stocks. In this article we take a closer look at “equal-weighed” investments (i.e., where all holdings represent the same percentage of a given exchange-traded-fund (“ETF”) and how they may differ from their “cap-weighted” counterparts.

Precious metals stole the show in 2025 – rising steadily all year with a parabolic surge in Q4. While it appeared to be “business as usual” for the U.S equity market in 2025, with the S&P 500 Index up 16.39%, several potential near-term warning signs have emerged beneath the surface.

In this article, we’ll review why we think we may be in a new era of above-average inflation and which U.S. equity sectors may benefit.

The sharp April pullback in the equity market feels like a distant memory now. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite finished Q3 sitting near all-time highs.

The market environment of the past several years has underscored the need for investors to include inflation hedges in their portfolios.

The tariff news feed feels like a roller-coaster ride with wild swings in announced tariff levels, changing implementation deadlines, and uncertain objectives.  In this article, we’ll review the impacts since February, look at market performance, and discuss where we may be headed from here.

As we write this quarter’s update, it's hard to believe that we just experienced a “waterfall” drawdown in the U.S. equity market. Early in Q2, we were experiencing a 20%+ pullback in the market which occurred over just a few weeks of trading (February 19th - April 7th). Now, three months later, we have fully recovered the drawdown and are again reaching new “all-time highs” in the U.S. equity market.

In the first quarter of 2025 we had a broad pullback in the U.S. equity markets with the S&P 500 Index moving (briefly) into “correction” territory – a peak-to-valley drop of 10%. The drop happened quickly with the market falling 10% in 20 trading days – the 5th fastest correction since 1950.

In our view, there is no easier and quicker way to lower taxes than to contribute to a retirement savings plan.

We review the view of tariffs in modern history, what results can be expected and how they may impact investment portfolios.

The S&P 500 Index finished 2024 up over 25% and is now up nearly 10)% in the 5 years ending December 31, 2024. Although the S&P 500 ended the quarter up 2.1%, seven of the eleven major S&P sectors were negative.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments will increase by 2.5% in 2025. The Social Security Administration recently announced its annual “cost of living adjustment” (COLA).

As was widely expected, the Federal Reserve Bank (the “Fed”) cut its benchmark interest rate during Q3 by 50 basis points. This cut marked the first downward adjustment since rates were lowered during the COVID crisis (1Q 2020).

Life throws a lot at us. We all have daily stressors, but sometimes we face life-altering experiences. This is certainly true in the case of chronic illness, the death of a spouse, or divorce. In each of these cases, in addition to the mental and physical strain, there are financial decisions to be made.

The 2nd quarter of 2024 saw continued momentum in large cap technology – driven in large part by Nvidia. While the technology sector (XLK) led the way, more than half of the sectors within the S&P 500 were negative on the quarter.

Patina Wealth has done retirement planning for clients who are several decades away from retirement and for new clients who are already in retirement. As you can imagine, most clients are trying to answer the same question: “Am I on the right track for my savings to outlast me.”

The U.S. stock market began the year how it ended 2023, with a steady climb upward absent any material pullbacks. In January and March, Federal Reserve Bank (“Fed”) minutes, along with public comments from Jerome Powell and others, confirmed that additional rate hikes were unlikely and that rate reductions were the probable next move.