Major US indices strung together a fourth straight week of gains and finished the week strong on optimism over US and China trade negotiations. Financials were the strongest performing sector for the week with several of the major US banks reporting earnings to kick...

Global equities continued their upward march on the back of last week’s positive jobs report and dovish comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Trade talks between China and U.S. also showed signs of progress, adding fuel to the rally. The positive momentum was...

The Stock Market Global stocks resumed a downward slide in December, led by US equities. International stocks held up better for the month and the full fourth quarter, but were the worst performing asset class for the year. Investors sought safety in gold and bonds,...

This is part 3 of the “Withstanding Market Cycles” series on portfolio diversification and asset allocation…some of your best safeguards in times of volatility. Part 1: The Benefits of Portfolio Diversification Part 2: How to Determine the Right Asset Mix for Your...

2019 is off to a wild start. Disappointing revenue guidance from Apple sparked fears around a general earnings slowdown, a harder than expected landing in China and recession in general. The mood swung quickly positive on Friday with a blowout jobs report and...

This is part 2 of the "Withstanding Market Cycles" series on portfolio diversification and asset allocation...some of your best safeguards in times of volatility. For part one of the series "The Benefits of Portfolio Diversification," click here. The markets had a...

As we ring in the New Year, it’s time to consider boosting contributions to your employer-sponsored retirement savings plan—and the federal government is willing to help (a little.) The maximum contribution has increased this year, so you can shelter a bit more money...

Hello Readers – It has been an interesting close to 2018, to say the least. We have 1 more full trading day left in the year, and this may be the first year in recent memory where US stocks close out below where they started at the beginning of the year. Volatility...

This is part one of a series on portfolio diversification and asset allocation...some of the best safeguards against market volatility. U.S. markets have taken a volatile turn in the last few months, recording one of the worst Decembers in recent years. Naturally,...

Recency Bias During Bull Markets New investors who have been in the market for nearly a decade may have never seen a bear market. Additionally, many of folks who were investing in the last bear seem to have forgotten what one is like. This is a phenomenon known as...

If it was not already assumed, it has now been confirmed there will be NO Santa Rally this year with only one abbreviated trading day left to go before the holiday. The market instead flaunted its ugly red Christmas sweater while the Fed took away the punchbowl. The...

Equities rallied early in the week when it appeared trade tensions were easing between the U.S. and China, but the party was short lived. A string of negative global economic data points sent markets lower, with the S&P 500 approaching lows set earlier in the year...

This post originally appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of Confident Money, a Personal Capital-sponsored magazine committed to the idea of building confidence and creating the best you at every step of your financial journey. Subscriptions to Confident Money are free....

In November, equity markets recouped some of the losses from October. Headline returns for the month understate choppiness along the way. Steep losses in select high-momentum tech stocks indicate that long-standing trends are being tested. Increased sector...

For tips on getting a head start on the New Year by making your taxes work for you, read our free "Guide to End-Of-Year Tax Planning." Read the Guide. Does The State Of The Economy Impact How You Approach Your Financial Planning Strategy? It’s a fair question,...

On Friday, Marriott announced that the guest reservation database for it's Starwood Hotels (which includes the Westin and St. Regis hotel chains) had suffered a massive data breach, affecting the records of an estimated 500 million U.S. customers going back to 2014....

Global equity markets officially entered correction territory over last 2+ months, dropping over 10% from previous highs in September through October with significant volatility through November. This week markets began to rebound again, finishing both the week and...

Firstly, I’d like to say thank you to all of our clients and users. We here at Personal Capital deeply appreciate your trust and engagement, and we look forward to continuing to serve you all in the coming decades. Also, I would like to thank all my fellow employees...