Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
By: Dr K C Gupta SENTIMENTSAAII Bull-Bear Spread -38.3% (very low). (Thursday-Wednesday)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 49.26% (negative, but almost positive)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 56.40% (positive)Delta MSI 33.0% (negative)ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 59.32%, Hybrids 4.24%, Bonds 18.32%, M-Mkt 18.11% INTEREST RATESCME
Elder Issues
By: Dr K C Gupta Elder problems can remain hidden due to considerations of personal privacy orhesitation to discuss them with others. Even celebrities have been victims of elderabuse or neglect. Family members should be aware of this. Rely on local estate orelder-law
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economictrends
By: Dr K C GuptaSENTIMENTSAAII Bull-Bear Spread -31.4% (very low). (Thursday-Wednesday)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 19.89% (oversold)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 24.60% (oversold)Delta MSI 24.0% (oversold)ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 60.36%, Hybrids 4.24%, Bonds 17.81%, M-Mkt 17.59% INTEREST RATESCME FedWatchCycle peak 5.25-5.50%Current 4.25-4.50%FOMC
Total Return (TR)
By: Dr. K. C. Gupta Total return (TR) includes dividends or interest plus price appreciation. But the concept gets more interesting beyond this basic idea. For stocks, earnings play an important role, and TR can be broken down into three components:%TR = %Dividend Yield + %Earnings
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economictrends
By: Dr K C Gupta SENTIMENTS AAII Bull-Bear Spread -40.1% (very low). (Thursday-Wednesday)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 10.97% (oversold)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 13.00% (oversold)Delta MSI 42.3% (negative; stale?) ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 60.36%, Hybrids 4.24%, Bonds 17.81%, M-Mkt 17.59% INTEREST RATESCME
Convertible bonds & preferreds
By: Dr K C Gupta Regular bonds are debt within company capital structures. Bonds are contracts, so, thebond coupon interest must be paid as scheduled & principal must be paid at maturity toavoid default. There may be grace periods, waivers by lenders, or
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
By: Dr K C Gupta SENTIMENTSAAII Bull-Bear Spread -37.8% (very low). (Thursday-Wednesday)$NYA50R, NYSE 40.77% (negative)$SPXA50R, SP500 47.40% (negative)Delta MSI 43.9% (negative)ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 61.10%, Hybrids 4.23%, Bonds 17.38%, M-Mkt 17.30% INTEREST RATESCycle peak 5.25-5.50%Current 4.25-4.50%FOMC 3/19/25+ holdFOMC 5/7/25+ hold
529-ABLE for disabled
By: Dr K C Gupta It may seem strange that disability 529-ABLE or 529A accounts reside under the same framework as college 529 accounts. That’s because many aspects such as state sponsorships, contribution & withdrawal restrictions, & related plan mechanisms are similar. Unfortunately,
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
By: Dr K C Gupta SENTIMENTSAAII Bull-Bear Spread -11.3% (low)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 48.80% (negative)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 53.20% (positive)Delta MSI 50.7% (positive, barely)ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 60.54%, Hybrids 4.24%, Bonds 17.58%, M-Mkt 17.64% INTEREST RATESCME FedWatchCycle peak 5.25-5.50%Current 4.25-4.50%FOMC 3/19/25+
Buying Treasuries – T-Bills & T-Notes
By: Dr. K C Gupta TREASURIES compete well with CDs, yet many hesitate to buy them. There are T-Bills (maturities up to 1 yr), T-Notes (1+ to 10 yrs), T-Bonds (10+ to 30 yrs), Zero-coupon (Zeros), inflation-protected TIPS, floating-rate FRNs (2 yrs; weekly
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
By: Dr K C Gupta SENTIMENTSAAII Bull-Bear Spread -9.5% (below average)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 50.72% (positive, barely)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 50.60% (positive, barely)Delta MSI 50.9% (positive, barely) ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 60.54%, Hybrids 4.24%, Bonds 17.58%, M-Mkt 17.64% INTEREST RATESCME FedWatchCycle
Fund Indexing
By: Dr K C Gupta From a shaky start in the 1970s, indexing has grown tremendously so that 48% of US funds (consisting of 21% mutual funds/OEFs & 27% ETFs) are indexed now. The meaning of indexing has also evolved. One definition considers
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal Finance SENTIMENTSAAII Bull-Bear Spread +14.0% (reversal; above average)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 53.17% (positive)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 51.60% (positive)Delta MSI 48.0%% (negative)ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 61.41%, Hybrids 4.27%, Bonds 17.40%, M-Mkt 16.92% INTEREST RATESCME FedWatchCycle
Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT)
By: Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal FinanceMPT is the use of statistics in portfolio analysis (1950s- ). Several terms were customized for portfolio applications. Only basic math is assumed as various software tools make it all easy to use. A LINEAR REGRESSION is
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
By: Dr K C Gupta SENTIMENTS AAII Bull-Bear Spread -2.7% (below average)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 27.40% (oversold)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 17.20% (oversold)Delta MSI 33.2% (negative)ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 61.41%, Hybrids 4.27%, Bonds 17.40%, M-Mkt 16.92% INTEREST RATESCME FedWatchCycle peak 5.25-5.50%Current
Health Savings Account – HSA
By: Dr K C Gupta HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTs (HSAs, 12/2003- ) are interesting alternatives to conventional employer group insurance. They have triple+ benefits: (1) Contributions are pre-tax or tax- deductible (itemized Schedule A not necessary); (2) account assets grow tax-free; (3) qualified withdrawals
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal Finance SENTIMENTS AAII Bull-Bear Spread +3.7% (below average)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 29.06% (oversold)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 27.00% (oversold)Delta MSI 34.6% (negative) ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 61.41%, Hybrids 4.27%, Bonds 17.40%, M-Mkt 16.92% INTEREST RATES
Portfolio Income & Withdrawals
Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal FinancePORTFOLIO INCOME is important for many investors & retirees now that old defined-benefit (DB) pensions have almost disappeared. Portfolio WITHDRAWALS (decumulations) need to cover only the income-gap that is the difference between basic expenses & income from
Personal finance insights: Market sentiments, investment strategies & economic trends
By: Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal Finance SENTIMENTS AAII Bull-Bear Spread +11.6% (above average)$NYA50R, NYSE %Above 50-dMA 50.76% (positive, barely)$SPXA50R, SP500 %Above 50-dMA 47.60% (negative)Delta MSI 60.2%% (positive, lagging) ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative)OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 61.62%, Hybrids 4.36%, Bonds 17.84%, M-Mkt
Donor Advised Funds – DAFs
Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal FinanceDonor Advised Funds (DAFs; 1931- ) function like your own personal charitable foundation but without the expenses & headaches of actual foundations. Many wealthy people (including billionaires) are now using DAFs exclusively, or in addition to complex