Michael L. Schwartz, RFC, CFS
Comprehensive Wealth Management and Retirement
Planning
Weekly Commentary – December 7, 2015
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Weekly Market Overview: Anyone
looking at U.S. stock market performance last week might assume it was a
pretty quiet week. They would be wrong. It was a very bouncy week… read
more.
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IT’S THAT TIME OF
YEAR: No,
not the holidays. It’s the time when investors begin to consider pundits’
forecasts for the coming year. Here are a few of those… read
more.
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Weekly Focus: Value vs. Growth Investing
See our morningstar
report… click
here.
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OFFICE
HAPPENINGS
Annual Holiday
Open House
(Families Welcome!)
Sunday,
December 13th @ Schwartz Financial
115 Old York
Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046
RSVP by
12/7/15
February 2016
Welcome to
2016 Presentation
More information to
come soon.
115 Old York
Road | Jenkintown, PA 19046 | ph 215.886.2122 | fax 215.886.6144
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To unsubscribe
from our Weekly Commentary please reply to this e-mail
with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line, or write us at mike@schwartzfinancial.com.
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Michael L.
Schwartz, RFC, CWS, CFS, a registered principal offering securities and
advisory services through Independent Financial Group, LLC., a registered
broker-dealer and investment advisor. Member FINRA-SIPC. Schwartz
Financial and Independent Financial Group are unaffiliated entities.
This information
is provided for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation or
recommendation that any particular investor should purchase or sell any
security. The information contained herein is obtained from sources believed
to be reliable but its accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed. Any
opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. An
Index is a composite of securities that provides a performance
benchmark. Returns are presented for illustrative purposes only and are
not intended to project the performance of any specific investment.
Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs and expenses and
cannot be invested in directly. Past performance is not a
guarantee of future results.
* The Standard
& Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered
to be representative of the stock market in general.
* The DJ Global ex
US is an unmanaged group of non-U.S. securities designed to reflect the
performance of the global equity securities that have readily available
prices.
* The 10-year
Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the
public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors
use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents
the London afternoon gold price fix as reported by the London Bullion Market
Association.
* The DJ Commodity
Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the
commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19
physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity
All REIT TR Index measures the total return performance of the equity
subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated
by Dow Jones.
* Yahoo! Finance
is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two
specific periods.
* Opinions
expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as
investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Past performance
does not guarantee future results.
* You cannot
invest directly in an index.
* Consult your
financial professional before making any investment decision.
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Mike's Market Commentary
Mike's thoughts on the stock market and other assorted happenings of the world.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Schwartz Financial Weekly Commentary 12/7/15
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Year End Tax Moves for 2015
Michael L. Schwartz, RFC,
CWS, CFS
Comprehensive Wealth
Management and Retirement Planning
Year End Tax Moves for 2015
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One of our major goals is to
help our clients identify opportunities that coordinate tax reduction with
their investment portfolios. In order to achieve this goal, we stay current
on ever-changing tax reduction strategies. This special report covers the
details of many year-end tax strategies for 2015.
Remember- every situation is
different and not all strategies will be appropriate for you. Please discuss
all tax strategies with your tax preparer prior to making any final
decisions.
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OFFICE
HAPPENINGS
Annual Holiday
Open House
(Families Welcome!)
Sunday,
December 13th @ Schwartz Financial
115 Old York
Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046
RSVP by
12/7/15
February 2016
Welcome to
2016 Presentation
More information to come soon.
115 Old York
Road | Jenkintown, PA 19046 | ph 215.886.2122 | fax 215.886.6144
|
|||||||
To unsubscribe
from our Weekly Commentary please reply to this e-mail
with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line, or write us at mike@schwartzfinancial.com.
|
|||||||
Michael L. Schwartz, RFC, CWS, CFS, a registered principal
offering securities and advisory services through Independent Financial
Group, LLC., a registered broker-dealer and investment advisor. Member
FINRA-SIPC. Schwartz Financial and Independent Financial Group are
unaffiliated entities.
This information is provided for informational purposes
only and is not a solicitation or recommendation that any particular investor
should purchase or sell any security. The information contained herein is
obtained from sources believed to be reliable but its accuracy or
completeness is not guaranteed. Any opinions expressed herein are
subject to change without notice. An Index is a composite of securities
that provides a performance benchmark. Returns are presented for
illustrative purposes only and are not intended to project the performance of
any specific investment. Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur management
fees, costs and expenses and cannot be invested in directly. Past
performance is not a guarantee of future results.
* The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an
unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock
market in general.
* The DJ Global ex US is an unmanaged group of non-U.S.
securities designed to reflect the performance of the global equity
securities that have readily available prices.
* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the
United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a
risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark
for the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the London afternoon gold price fix as
reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
* The DJ Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid
and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is
composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on
July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity All REIT TR Index measures the total
return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment
Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the
performance of an index between two specific periods.
* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice
and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Past performance does not guarantee future results.
* You cannot invest directly in an index.
* Consult your financial professional before making any
investment decision.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2015
The seeds of American Democracy were sown by the Pilgrims
Before the Pilgrims sailed, they secured a charter to
settle the Northern part of the Virginia Colony in British North America. When
they arrived, 500 miles off course, they had no rights to settle the land
around their anchorage. Determined to make the most of their circumstances, the
Pilgrims sowed the early seeds of Democracy by establishing the Mayflower
Compact. The passengers of the Mayflower established a “civil body politic.”
They agreed to submit to government chosen by common consent, and obey all laws
made for the common good of the colony.
These principles, including the separation of church and
state, and the rule of "just and equal laws," would guide and inform
American thinking for years to come. After the Revolutionary War, politicians
looked to the Mayflower Compact for inspiration and guidance as they pondered
the laws that should guide our new country. John Adams said the agreement was
"the first example in modern times of a social compact or system of
government instituted by voluntary agreement conformable to the laws of nature,
by men of equal rights and about to establish their community in a new
country."
This year, we can be grateful to the Pilgrims for more
than the traditions of feasting and giving thanks; we also can show
appreciation for the freedom and responsibilities of democracy.
However we interact, be it friends, family, clients,
prospects or just those that receive our emails, we’re thankful to have the
opportunity to serve you – through good times and bad. If you have questions or
need assistance, please contact us.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 16, 2015
Financial Security II
Financial
Security II
Imagine
this scenario. You get an email that
appears to be from your bank. You open
it and read a message riddled with misspelled words that direct you to “click
the link below.” You click on the link,
and are taken to a page that looks almost exactly like the website you’re used
to visiting … almost.
You’ve
been phished.
Hopefully,
this scenario has never happened to you.
Or if it has, you recognized the warning signs and knew to stay
away. Unfortunately, many people don’t recognize those warning signs, and
fall prey to a particularly insidious form of Internet fraud called phishing.
Phishing is defined as “the creation of email messages and Web pages that are replicas of
existing, legitimate sites and businesses.
These Web sites and emails are used to trick users into submitting
personal, financial, or password data.
These emails often ask for information such as credit card numbers, bank
account information, Social Security numbers, and passwords that will be used
to commit fraud.”1 A play on the word “fishing,” (with
regular people as the prey, and fake emails/web sites as the bait), the crooks
behind phishing like to target the following areas:
Retail/Service – 29.37%
Payment Services – 25.13%
Email – 12.39%
Social Networking – 6.43%
Other – 26.68%
People who fall for these scams are often
duped into giving out sensitive information, like their Social Security
numbers, account passwords, credit card numbers, or even bank PIN numbers. Or, they may be directed to sites that
proceed to install malicious software onto their computer or mobile
device. Either way, phishing poses a
major threat to your finances, your identity, or your data.
Thankfully, phishing is easy to avoid if
you follow a few common-sense rules:
Legitimate banks, retailers, and
social media sites should never ask
for your personal information via email.
If you receive a message from someone asking for this info, assume it’s
a scam.
Furthermore, as a general rule of
thumb, do not reply to any message,
electronic or otherwise, that requests your personal information.
Never use links in an email to
connect to a website. Open a new browser
window and type the site address in directly.
Always double-check the URL of any
site you intend to visit. Some thieves
set up sites with URLs that look very similar to a legitimate site. For example, “amzon.com” instead of “amazon,”
or “facebok.com” instead of “facebook.”
You get the idea.
When doing business online, look at
each website’s address. Secure websites
should have a small symbol of a lock next to their URL, or the letters https (instead of merely http) at the
beginning of the address. Both the lock
and the letter “s” indicate that the site has been verified as secure.
Also, learn to recognize what common
phishing messages look like. There are
often a few telltale signs:
Dear Costumer,
We have recieved notice that your identity is not secure! This could put
your account in danger. To register for
a higher lvel of security, simply:
1. Click the
link below to open a secure portal to our site
2.
Confirm your the owner of the account by
answering a few simple questions
If you do not comply with these
instructions in 7 days we have no choice
but to permanently delete your account.
Sincerely,
Your
Bank, Privacy Division
The
warning signs aren’t hard to spot. Look
for misspelled words (costumer, recieved, lvel, etc.), links to click on
(“Click the link below”), threats (“If you do not comply”), and references to a
well-known business or organization.
I
hope you found this information valuable.
Just remember that by keeping your eyes open and remembering a few
common-sense rules, you can protect yourself, your loved ones, and your data
from phishing scams.
Good
luck!
Regards,
,
Michael L. Schwartz, RFC®, CWS®, CFS
P.S.
Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or
colleagues. If you would like us to add
them to the list, please reply to this email with their email address and we
will ask for their permission to be added.
Michael
L. Schwartz, RFC, CWS, CFS, a registered principal offering securities and
advisory services through Independent Financial Group, LLC., a registered
broker-dealer and investment advisor.
Member FINRA-SIPC. Schwartz Financial and Independent Financial Group
are unaffiliated entities.
This
information is provided for informational purposes only and is not a
solicitation or recommendation that any particular investor should purchase or
sell any security. The information contained herein is obtained from sources
believed to be reliable but its accuracy or completeness is not
guaranteed. Any opinions expressed
herein are subject to change without notice.
An Index is a composite of securities that provides a performance
benchmark. Returns are presented for
illustrative purposes only and are not intended to project the performance of
any specific investment. Indexes are
unmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs and expenses and cannot be
invested in directly. Past
performance is not a guarantee of
future results.
* The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an
unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock
market in general.
* The DJ Global ex US is an unmanaged group of non-U.S.
securities designed to reflect the performance of the global equity securities
that have readily available prices.
* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the
United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a
risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for
the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the London afternoon gold price fix as
reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
* The DJ Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid
and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is
composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on
July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity All REIT TR Index measures the total return
performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust
(REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the
performance of an index between two specific periods.
* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice
and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Past performance does not guarantee future results.
* You cannot invest directly in an index.
* Consult your financial professional before making any
investment decision.
* To unsubscribe from our “market
commentary” please reply to this e-mail with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line, or write
us at “mike@schwartzfinancial.com”.
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