10 years ago, on 15 April 2015 to be precise, I published “Legal Tender, Enduring Wealth Management for Busy Legal Professionals” on Amazon with a digital version on Kindle. I wanted to give it my best shot as I had never authored a book before and engaged a team of professionals to bring the project to life, including a finance student and marketing professor from AUT Business School, creative writer, editor, proof-reader and illustrator. Amazon allowed me to bypass the process of getting picked up by a publishing house who would be focused on the commercial gain from the project. I wanted to give away my book to as many lawyers as possible, to help them make good decisions with their money.

“Volatility is heightened right now. We have volatility in markets, government policy, trade and supply chains, which translates into emotional volatility. Let’s look at some of the ways this manifests through a host of behavioral biases that impact us all in some way:

Recency bias is when you give more weight or importance to recent events.

Stocks are up. The correction is over! Stocks are down. This downturn will never end!

There is a tendency to declare victory — either bullish or bearish — when the stock market is rising and falling rapidly. The volatility plays head games with you.”

When markets feel as shaky as they do now in the US, it is normal to ask: Is this time different?

After all, the S&P 500 Index is down some 4% already this year and there is considerable economic uncertainty. But anxious investors today should consider where the market was five years ago, and how well those who tuned out the noise performed.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic had spread rapidly, and the US stock market dropped 34% in just 23 days—faster than ever before.1 The VIX index, a measure of investor expectations of volatility often called Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” hit a record high.

The US market has had a disappointing start to 2025 amid a slew of new tariffs being imposed on some of the nation’s largest trading partners. For global investors, these losses have been somewhat offset by positive returns in many non-US markets. A few of these markets that have started 2025 strongly may be surprising to investors.

As seasoned investors know, share prices can move up and down a lot. It’s what investment professionals refer to as ‘volatility’. Sometimes price volatility may be relatively low, but over the last 3-4 weeks volatility has spiked and global shares, especially those in the US, have fallen rather sharply.

After a period of strong investment returns, global markets have experienced increased volatility in recent weeks, leading to declines in many investment portfolios and KiwiSaver balances. We understand this can be unsettling - even experienced investors can find it challenging to manage emotions when markets fluctuate.

Recent geopolitical tensions, concerns over tariffs, and inflation uncertainty have contributed to market pessimism. While these challenges create short-term noise, history has shown that reacting to market downturns often leads to poor investment decisions.

Every year, many investment and consulting firms release new CMAs, or capital market assumptions. CMAs can be useful for setting risk and return expectations and for long- term financial planning. However, as the old saying goes, it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.1 Even well-constructed CMAs are not a crystal ball and, when used inappropriately, can lead to suboptimal outcomes for investors.

The first asset allocation quilt I created for this site covered the ten-year period from 2005-2014.

Those returns look nothing like the last 10 years which is the whole point of this exercise.

One of my favorite market datasets just got its annual update.

Aswath Damodaran at NYU publishes a yearly update of returns for stocks (S&P 500), bonds (10 year Treasuries), cash (3-month T-bills), real estate, gold and inflation going back to 1928. Plus this year he added small caps to the mix.

Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, economic challenges, and electoral uncertainty, 2024 proved the resilience of public financial markets and the power of human ingenuity once again. Markets continued to do what they do best: efficiently process information and set fair prices, rewarding long-term investors with positive returns.

For investors, 2024 was a year of surprises, defying many of the predictions that economists and strategists made at this time last year. In particular, consider the remarkable gains in the S&P 500 Index, which was on track to close up more than 25% for 2024, well ahead of Wall Street analysts’ forecasts, in one of its strongest annual performances of the last quarter-century.

What made 2024 so extraordinary for the U.S. economy and markets? And can these exceptional circumstances persist in the new year? Here are five surprising developments that Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Committee believes warrant closer examination heading into 2025.

When it comes to investing, a big obstacle many people face is the fear of catastrophe. If you invest in a stock, there’s always the possibility that the value may drop to zero. In fact, we used to have a wall in the office lunchroom that was covered with stock certificates from liquidated companies.

Ever heard of the ‘Santa rally’? And no, it’s not a Father Christmas-themed motorsport… although that would be brilliant! It’s a performance trend that investors have seen over the decades, where the stock market tends to increase in value around the end of the year. In this article, we explore this festive phenomenon and look at what it could mean for your investments.

In an election with significant implications for investors, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been declared the president-elect, signalling a potential continuation and expansion of policies from his first term. As the final votes are counted and the possibility of recounts looms, the focus shifts to the implications of a second Trump administration, particularly concerning tax policies, trade tariffs and deregulation efforts. Here’s what investors should be watching. 

Politics has been a focus for markets in 2024, with about 60% of the global population voting in elections in at least 76 countries. Of course, the big one is still to come. The US presidential election, scheduled for 5 November, is dominating headlines, prompting questions from investors in Australia and New Zealand about how they should respond.

Morningstar is a firm believer that a goals-based investment approach is the best way for investors to achieve their objectives.

Understanding what you are trying to achieve is a critical step in designing an investment strategy. It also allows you to track progress towards your goal and course correct as needed.

By the time you retire, you will have heard and read about all kinds of financial advice. Some tidbits of advice get repeated so frequently, you might believe they are true. The truth is, however, that following some of these rules could get you in trouble. Here are six financial myths you should ignore.

Household net worth is at all-time highs.

Housing prices are at all-time highs.

The stock market is near all-time highs.

But not everyone is feeling great about their finances.

There’s plenty of investment advice out there based on what one must do to be successful.

You don’t see many people who take the opposite approach and talk about what you shouldn’t do.

There are many ways to succeed as an investor but only a few avenues to failure.

Regular Olympic watchers will know the biggest medal hauls are traditionally won by one of a select few nations. Since 2004, for instance, our exhibit shows the USA has appeared at the top of the overall medal table on three occasions, and second or third on two occasions.  Other G7 nations and Russia usually feature near the top, although Australia has punched above its weight, placing in the top 10 in all the summer games in the past two decades.