Gilbert Wealth Articles

Yearly Asset Class Returns Through 2022

Key take aways Diversification is a great way to reduce the volatility of your portfolio. It is hard to predict which asset class will be the winner from year to year. How do you read the chart? The chart presents the annual returns for 9 major investment asset classes from 2008 to 2022. A tenth box is added to represent a sample "Asset Allocation" portfolio as discussed below. Each asset class and portfolio is assigned a color. Here is a guide to the labels and what they mean: Equity or Stocks Large Cap is the return of the largest 500 companies by…
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How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Crimes

Identity Theft is a Problem 40% of consumers have been a victim of online identity theft. Source: 2019 Experian $4,930 , is the average financial loss per identity theft incident. Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Javelin Strategy & Research 200 , , hours, on average, spent over 6 months to recover your identity. Source: SANS Institute What can you do to prevent this? “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If…
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Comprehensive Services List

As a comprehensive financial planner, I am trained to address many areas of your financial life. While not exhaustive, I've compiled more detailed list of financial planning topics we may address in our planning arrangement.Note - Not all financial advisors cover the below topics. It is up to you to ask if these things will be addressed proactively or if you need to bring them up.  Investment Planning Portfolio Review Asset Allocation Time Horizon Planning Withdrawal Strategies Account Aggregation Monitor Outside Accounts Investment Policy Statement Stock Concentration Real Estate Analysis Executive Compensation Retirement Planning Planning for Financial Independence Savings Optimization…
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How Financial Advisors Get Paid

Anyone about to begin their search for a financial advisor will quickly find that there are many, many choices out there! In fact, there are over 93,000 CFP Professionals alone and far more than that without the CFP credentials. The goal of this article is to explain, and help you understand, how financial advisors get paid. Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome. - Charlie MungerCharlie Munger It is important to note that fees should not be your only criteria for choosing an advisor. There are no doubt good advisors providing excellent advice and service under…
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How Headline Inflation Works

It has been a long time since Americans have dealt with serious inflation. The United States, and the whole world, is working to bring down inflation resulting from the lingering effects of COVID-19 and the prolonged invasion of Ukraine by Russia. I would like to provide a little insight into how the Headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated and what to expect going forward.Inflation is comprised of many different components (energy, food, and goods) that build up to one primary number called Headline CPI that is typically reported and discussed in the news.Below is a chart of annual inflation…
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Ukraine and the changing market environment

With geopolitical tensions such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, investors often ask whether a link exists between current events and financial market performance. However, when we examined major geopolitical events over the past 60 years, we found that while equity markets often reacted negatively to the initial news, geopolitical sell-offs were typically short-lived and returns over the following 6- and 12-month periods were largely in line with long-term average returns. On average, stocks returned 5% in the 6 months following the events and 9% in the 12 months after the events as shown below. This article was reposted…
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