Since the first of the year, Woodmont has worked with a number of clients who are nearing retirement and want a ‘status check’ on their investments and preparation for retirement. In light of these conversations, we wanted to share a few key considerations if you decide to under-take a similar exercise.

If the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, let alone the Senate, cannot muster the votes to deliver a healthcare alternative to “Obamacare,” how will they ever deliver on highly anticipated items such as corporate tax reform?  The investor consternation resulted in eight consecutive down days for the Dow Jones Industrial Average – the longest streak since 2011 and just one day shy of tying a record that dates back to 1978. This mid-March market retreat was a fairly paltry 2%. Yet, it was a reminder that many investors are anxious about the market outlook if President Trump’s perceived pro-growth agenda looks in jeopardy.

While it may be too late for New Year's resolutions for 2017, it is not too late to better manage a financial risk we are all exposed to, cybersecurity. Whether due to the claims of hacking during the Presidential election or the Sony Studios hack of 2015, cyber-security is certainly front page news. While we are certainly not IT experts, cyber security is top of mind at Woodmont as we help clients manage financial risks.

In order to explain how we think about investing here at Woodmont, as well as to help our clients better understand their own investments, we are beginning a series of short posts about how best to think about investing.

This is of great importance, as the data is quite conclusive that the average investor has abysmally under-performed vs. the broader market indices.

Down over 2,000 points in mid- January to 15,450, the Dow Jones Industrial Average enters 2017 flirting with 20,000.