Fear and uncertainty grip the United States today, particularly in politics. Some are concerned that Democratic candidate Joe Biden may win the presidency; others fear the prospect of another four years under the leadership of Republican President, Donald Trump. Should an investor modify their
The Math Behind the Market
The S&P 500 reached 3,386 at its peak on February 19th, 2020, before its month-long decline to 2,237 on March 23rd. From February to March, the S&P decreased by 34%. After that trough in late March, the S&P rose 30% by April 30th. At first glace, one might think that the gains made in
A Convergence of Events
A Convergence of Events A series of seemingly unrelated events hit me over the weekend and I’d like to share them with you. The first was reading a series of essays in the Wall Street Journal addressed to the college graduates of 2020. This class is missing out on the culmination of a lifetime
The SECURE Act
The final weeks of 2019 saw the passage of the SECURE Act, ushering in sweeping rule changes for retirees. The SECURE legislation- which stands for “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement”- has a number of revisions to current tax law. In this article we’ll highlight the key changes
Modus Advisors Welcomes Ryan Peckskamp
To our clients and friends, We are pleased and excited to announce that Ryan Peckskamp has joined the Modus Team! Ryan will continue in his role as a Financial Advisor, working with his clients of the past 10 years as well as helping to serve our existing clients at Modus. Ryan adds depth and
The Best Time to Draw Social Security
According to a recent article on Yahoo Finance, only 4% of retirees are claiming Social Security benefits at the most financially optimal time. Rather than waiting to take Social Security benefits at a time that would maximize the money that they receive from the government, these retirees are
Modus Advisors – Celebrating Ten Years!
Ten years ago, on March 9, 2009, Modus Advisors opened its doors in Eden Prairie, MN. It was an inauspicious day to start a company, particularly in the financial services industry. The stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, had fallen 56.8% from its peak on October 9, 2007. What came to be
Q2 2018 Market Update
Market Update 2017 was a period when nearly everything worked for investors. This was most decidedly NOT the case for the first half of 2018. Indexes representing international equities, emerging markets, fixed income, and U.S. value stocks were all down between -2% and -7% for the first half of
Not So Small!
You may have heard that this week is National Small Business Week. The technical definition of a Small Business is an independent business with fewer than 500 employees, but I certainly think of businesses on the low end of that range when I hear the term. In 2013, 48% of the workforce was employed
