By SJS Managing Director Jennifer Smiljanich
In this modern, mobile society, we all face a nearly unlimited menu of choices.
As it relates to work life alone, you can choose to stay at the same company for years, change jobs often, become part of the gig economy, retire and start a second career, or even run a business from your own home. Each path comes with different risks, and rewards.
The same is true with your investment portfolio. There are always many choices to consider:
What do I invest in – stocks or bonds – or both?
What about gold or real estate?
How do I invest – via mutual funds, individual securities, or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
When do I invest – should I invest all at once or invest over time?
When do I need to make any changes?
Helping you answer these questions with a clear understanding of your needs, goals, and preferences is part of the MarketPlus Investing® process. Your MarketPlus Investing portfolio is made up of institutional quality mutual funds, which may include both stocks and bonds.
We think it’s important to take time to make sure that we find the right design for your life situation, with a foundation supported by academic learning and science. We consider many factors in determining the right portfolio mix for you, including your age, income need, time until you need to start taking withdrawals, the length of time you will need that income, your current level of income, and your personal comfort with the ups and downs in the market – to name just a few.
The relative mix of stocks and bonds in a portfolio is the factor we believe has the most impact on expected risk and return. Stocks have historically outperformed bonds, although there have been periods, notably the early 2000s, when bonds have outperformed stocks.
Data Source: Dimensional Fund Advisors
What’s the difference between the two? Stocks offer ownership in a company. If you hold Apple stocks, you own a portion of Apple. In contrast, if you own an Apple bond, you are lending money to Apple, and you are entitled to repayment of interest and principal on your loan. If Apple were to go bankrupt, bondholders have a preferred place in line ahead of stockholders for a return of their investment.
The target mix of mutual funds that may include both stocks and bonds in your MarketPlus investment portfolio likely will vary over time. Typically, the mix will tilt away from stocks and toward bonds as you get older. Other life events may lead you to adjust your allocation – maybe a change in your need for funds, loss of a spouse, retirement or career move, reduced comfort with risk, or an update to your investment purpose. Market factors may also affect your desired allocation, such as the interest rate environment or market cycle changes.
We stand ready and willing to review your target with you, and to help you discern the right choice for you, wherever you are on life’s journey.
Important Disclosure Information:
There is no guarantee investment strategies will be successful. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Diversification neither assures a profit nor guarantees against a loss in a declining market. MarketPlus Investing® models consist of institutional quality mutual funds. Mutual fund investment values will fluctuate, and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost.
Suggested Reading
One of The Ability Center’s services is the Assistance Dog training program, which helps individuals with disabilities achieve greater independence.
When working with investment managers, we want them to share that same client-first philosophy and sit on the same side of the table with us.
We want to emphasize some best practices that can help us work together to ensure your information and assets remain safe.
The Outlook includes our evolving MarketPlus® Investing philosophy by standing on the shoulders of giants, and ways to help protect your personal information and financial assets. We also highlight The Ability Center and look forward to Q2 2024.
SRDAX is a shining example of the value alternatives can bring to traditional stock and bond strategies.
As we begin the new year, we have some ideas for concrete actions to start your new year on the right foot, financially.
Isn’t this picture magical? It's Main Street in Sylvania, Ohio, the small town where I founded SJS over 28 years ago!
The SJS Q4 2023 Outlook includes our insights on small town values, MarketPlus® Investing, and planning financially for the new year. We also highlight new SJS Team members and look forward to Q1 2024.
To help you financially plan for 2024, we provide this resource with important numbers for the upcoming year.
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in the Forbes / SHOOK 2023 list of America’s Top RIA (Registered Investor Advisor) Firms.
In addition to family gifting, many individuals support giving to organizations that aim to help their communities. We highlight some strategies to make the most of your giving dollars.
You can consider putting excess cash into a money market fund, short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, or a short-term bond mutual fund / ETF.
The future of the housing market is uncertain, and its resilience will be a crucial factor in the broader economic landscape.
The SJS Q3 2023 Outlook includes our insights on gifting and charitable contributions as well as U.S. real estate. We also look forward to Q4 2023.
SJS Investment Services has been recognized in CNBC’s 2023 FA 100 list, an annual ranking of registered investment advisory (RIA) firms within the United States.
International Samaritan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is working to break the chains of poverty and improving lives, particularly within garbage dump communities worldwide.
SJS has been recognized in Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2023 Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Ranking, an annual ranking of independent investment advisory firms within the United States.
The SJS Mission is to empower you to build a better life. That extends to our teammates, clients, and community members.
The SJS Q2 2023 Outlook includes our insights on building up our local communities as well as market performance so far in 2023. We also share even more members of the SJS family and look forward to Q3 2023.
It’s important to recognize how difficult it is to predict what will happen in the short-term for investment markets, and how much margin for error there should be for any prediction.
Leadership Toledo is an organization that connects individuals with the community, engaging and involving them with initiatives that make the Toledo region a great place to live, work, and enjoy.
The SJS Annual Report provides updates on the SJS Team, MarketPlus Investing®, SJS purpose, mission, & values, multi-family office services, and SJS community involvement.
The SJS Q1 2023 Outlook includes our insights on planning for your legacy, tomorrow’s headlines today, how the SECURE 2.0 Act may impact your finances, and looking forward to Q2 2023.
If you are lying awake asking yourself in the quiet of the night, “What should we do with our wealth when we die?”, please read on because in this article you will find potential answers, next steps, and resources.
The market’s reaction to tech in the first quarter is another reminder of how hard it is to time and predict the market, even if you “know” what is going to happen.
In efforts to further improve retirement plan saving and investing, the SECURE 2.0 Act was signed into law in December 2022. We want to highlight how this act may impact your finances.
The SJS word of the year for 2023 is GRATITUDE! Gratitude for our health, families, friends, faith, country, the SJS Team, and most importantly You, our loyal client who trusts us to do what’s in your best interest day-in and day-out.
The mission of Courageous Community Services is to provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for individuals with disabilities and their families through advocacy, education, and engaging recreational experiences.
The SJS Q4 2022 Outlook includes our insights on the U.S. bond market over the past year, steps to help you plan financially for the new year, a thank you to Bev Langley, and looking forward to Q1 2023.