Blog
Welcome to the Johnson Wealth Management blog. Here we'll post updates on the latest in the market, tips on personal finance, and overall investment knowledge for our clients and readers.
Lessons from the Glitz, Glam, & Gore of Crypto’s FTX & SBF
You’d be surprised to hear of those who have approached me about my opinion on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency the last few years.In my experience it, hasn’t been young people. It’s been those who are concerned about a...
Read MoreThe Virtue & Vice of Emergency Preparedness
Emergencies happen.And Humboldt County, California just got reminded of the importance of preparing for them.We at Johnson Wealth Management serve people in numerous states in the nation, but the firm’s first location began in...
Read MoreMoney, Extremism, and Martin Luther King Jr.
What you do with your money says a lot about you.One thing it shows is what kind of an extremist you are.You might say: “No? Not me. I’m no radical.”C’mon all of us are fanatical about something, even if...
Read More2023 Market Outlook Poison
We don’t even know what tomorrow will bring, but Wall Street loves to try and predict what will happen next year.Every year analysts come up with forecasts about the future. They turn around and do it again several months later...
Read MoreHabits 2023: Just One
Welcome to 2023. Why not start a new habit this year?Just one.It could be physical, financial, relational… you name it. Do it!Since this is primarily a financial blog, here are three financial habits to consider implementing...
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Best of the Blog: 2022
It’s that time of year when the “best of” lists start coming out of the woodwork.These kinds of lists are subjective, so I used three different measurements to gauge what the public found most interesting.Would you do...
Read MoreThe Gift of Giving
It is better to give than to receive.Let’s be honest though, it’s great when you can do a little of both.In America, financial giving is not entirely an act of altruism, as many times it can be tax deductible for the giver....
Read MoreAn Argument for Nuance
I write in nuance.Sentences composed of qualifiers. Rarely (see what I did there?) will you see words like certain, absolutely, guaranteed and the sort in my blog posts and newsletters.Annoying? Maybe.“That guy always has an out...
Read MoreSharpening the Saw of Family, Friendship, & Finance
People are busy. Christmas festivities and planning for them doesn’t exactly make us slow down either.Even if you are in the stage of life wear child-rearing is over and retirement has arrived, all of us live in a frenetic...
Read MoreBonds in 2022: The Slaughter of Safe Assets
Slaughter is a strong word.Quite visceral.But that’s how this year has felt for “safe” assets. Fixed income—the part of the investment portfolio that is usually considered safer than riskier assets like...
Read MoreThankfulness in a Culture of Outrage
Sex sells.So does anger.In a recent 60 Minutes, Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist and entrepreneur, recalled how technology through the medium of social networking fuels outrage."The more moral outrageous language you use, the more...
Read MoreThe Detached Investor: Lessons from a Navy SEAL
I have never served in the armed forces.I’m no military man.Jocko Willink is though.Jocko is a retired Navy SEAL that now serves as a leadership instructor, speaker, author, podcaster, and executive coach. In his...
Read MoreEnd of the Year Financial Review
There are less than two more months in 2022.Wild.As the year winds down, it’s a good time to reflect and consider actions that may need to be taken financially before year end.We all know it’s been a tough year for stocks...
Read MoreShow Me the Money!
It’s one of those iconic Hollywood scenes.Jerry Maguire, the sports agent played by Tom Cruise, yells into the phone to Rod Tidwell, the star Wide Receiver played by Cuba Gooding Jr., four words: “SHOW ME THE...
Read MoreDon’t Stay Stuck in the Past: Earn Money on Short Term Investments
We are not stock jocks.Obviously, we pay attention to the stock market. I write about it often.Over the long-term stocks via the power of compound interest remain one of the best ways to grow your money and beat inflation.But investing...
Read MoreThe Stock Market, The Mid-Terms, & Your Investment Decisions
After being an advisor for nearly a decade and a half, I’ve learned one thing about people’s opinion on where the market might be headed—it’s wed to their politics.If their political party is in or on the way in...
Read MoreDon’t Get Stuck. Consider Switching Your Financial Advisor
Getting stuck is easy.To go Shakespearean: Let me count the ways…It’s easy to get stuck in the same unhealthy relational and communication patterns. Being in a job you hate year after year, decade after decade is far too...
Read MoreAnd Now...For Some Good Bad News
Do you want the good news or bad news first?How about both? At the same time.The stock and bond market are down considerably. Even supposed inflation hedges like gold are down year to date. CNN’s Fear & Greed Index is at extreme...
Read MoreHere We Go Again: An Opportunity for Self-Control
Ouch.As of this writing, the markets are near the lows of the year again.We may have slashed through them by the time this goes to publish, or we may have bounced off the previous bottom. Time will tell.I have no idea when the market...
Read MoreSuppress Your Emotions About the Stock Market
We live in a culture obsessed with self-expression.Open Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and you will find people on the social networking stage displaying their opinions, bodies, lifestyle, work, and play for the world to see. While...
Read MoreInvesting as Your Own Devil's Advocate
We all have at least one argumentative friend or family member.Or two. Or ten.These are the ones you go out to dinner with, and they always have an argument for something. Turns out it’s usually the opposite of your beliefs.Every...
Read MoreThe Arrival of Fall & Falling Markets
Fall is almost here. Crazy. Kids and grandkids are back to school. Camping equipment is headed to storage. The holidays will be here in no time. Ho-Ho-Ho. Historically, like the weather, the stock market cools off too. As Barron’s...
Read MoreWisdom is Courageous
Parents do their best to teach their kids courage - a virtue worthy of life implementation.As we know, an act of courage is not fearless. The very definition of courage has fear embedded within it. Merriam-Webster defines it as a...
Read MoreWould You Rather Buy Stocks High or Sell Stocks Low?
You ever played, “Would you rather?”My kids do sometimes. It gets gross—fast.It goes like this: Would you rather lick the bottom of a shoe or lick the kitchen sink?Would you rather eat moldy bread or eat a rotten...
Read MoreSpend Money On Spending Time With Those You Love
Who do you spend your time with?Recently I came across this sobering set of data about who Americans spend their time with.1 It serves as a stark reminder that as life goes on, your relational network decreases and you can become more...
Read MoreHey June. Was that the Bottom for US Stocks
To be or not to be that is the question.Less poetically, the question on traders’ minds right now is:Was that the bottom back in June or not?It’s hard to know. This is why trading stocks is hard. One finds out more by...
Read MoreInvestment Decisions and the End of the World (Or America at Least)
You only bet on the end of the world once… So the saying goes.Some people, though, are happy to bet on it a few times throughout their lifetime. They build their financial decisions and investment portfolios around financial...
Read MoreWhat Coin Flipping & Investment Forecasts Have in Common
Around summertime, midyear outlooks for investment firms come out of the woodwork to the delight of stock market and economic geeks everywhere. Adjustments are made from the start of the year while forecasters, chart wizards, and data...
Read MoreFirst Flight, the Webb Telescope, & Gaining Perspective
I’m not the world’s greatest flyer.The first time I flew was in my 20s and I was a bit of a wreck. I felt dizzy and clammy. Anxious would sum it up rather nicely.That wasn’t all though.Looking down from tens of...
Read MoreInvestment News and the Irresistible Power of the Present
News media magnifies the current moment. All that matters is the present.To make things worse, often the reporting of this or that event is framed in such a way that makes things looks SOOO bad according to the bias of the particular...
Read MoreThe Stock Market Fell Because...
We human beings like living with a why. Meaning is a critical part of human flourishing.Sometimes we can get carried away though.Take the stock market for example. Financial media loves to generate reasons for why the stock market did...
Read MoreR-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N?
The R word is rearing its ugly head more and more across news media: R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N.The technical description of a recession varies, but one common definition is when the nation’s economy has two straight quarters of negative...
Read MoreA Reflection on Juneteenth
Change doesn’t always come right away. Even when it should.Juneteenth is evidence of that on many levels.It has been treasured as a holiday by Black Americans for years and celebrated in some states despite not being declared a...
Read MoreTimes They Are A-Changin’, So Stay Diversifyin’
A great deal can happen in a short amount of time. A pandemic can change the world and how we act in it so much that a company founded in 2011 can become a household name in 2020 and eclipse the market cap of a global oil giant...
Read MoreThe US Dollar: Imminent Demise or Continued Dynasty?
As a kid I can remember hearing about the demise of the dollar. This sounded bad being that the few greenbacks in my pocket were what I used to buy stuff.I probably absorbed this from adults spouting their economic opinions that they...
Read MoreHow One Individual Stock Can Spoil or Supercharge an Investment Portfolio
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Geopolitical Strife, Portfolio Performance, and People’s Lives
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Inflation Lions, Federal Reserve Tigers, Stock Market Bears: Oh, Buy (An Annuity)!
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Rethinking Your Investment Assumptions
All of us have opinions. Lots of them. Too many nowadays. Well, no, that isn’t really the problem. Opinions are good. It’s just that it feels like we must have an opinion and announce it as a fact all the time, especially...
Read MoreThe Joy of Christmas Giving
One of the best things about the Christmas season is the reminder that giving is better than receiving. The pleasure of watching others open gifts hints at how the nature of joy itself is a shared experience, not a hoarded one. Have...
Read More"They Already Have a Guy"
One of the ways a good business grows is through referral. They grow when consumers of the services they provide enjoy them and tell their friends about them. You try a new cup of coffee that’s quite good, so you grab one for...
Read MoreReaping the Rewards of Technology While Resisting Technopoly
I love technology. I’m a sucker for the latest upgrade. Its tendrils spread throughout the course of my day. It’s hard for even the technically challenged among us to not love technology at least a bit when their...
Read MoreLook Out for the Investment Gorilla
Sometimes our attention is so glued to one thing that we miss what is glaringly obvious. This is illustrated in the book The Invisible Gorilla and is recounted by Economic Sciences Nobel Prize winning author Daniel Kahneman: Intense...
Read MorePracticing Gratitude
Whether you are in the holiday mood or not, Thanksgiving week is here. No matter what your investment portfolio looks like, it’s the season we’ve set aside to reflect on what matters. Let’s be honest though…...
Read MoreBig Brother "Mutual Fund" & Its Coming-of-Age Little Brother "ETF"
Mutual funds used to be what all the cool kids were into. Times have changed a bit. Exchange Traded Funds, aka ETFs, were born in the 1990s and offered some unique features. Here is a breakdown from Bankrate that shows how the two...
Read MoreThe Worry That Won't Go Away
If you are waiting for something not to worry about in the stock market (or life for that matter), it’s not going to happen. Seriously. There is never a perfectly pristine time unhindered by worries in which to act. There is...
Read MoreThe Power & The Peril of Dividend Stocks
Companies that are publicly traded tend to fall in two categories: dividend stocks or growth stocks. While the two can overlap, there are key differences. A dividend paying company takes some of their profits and gives it back to their...
Read MoreWhat to Do When One Spouse is Not Involved in the Finances
What do you do as a married couple if you or your significant other is not knowledgeable about money? In this case, I’m not referring to a spouse that mishandles money. That’s another subject altogether. What I have in mind...
Read MoreThe Anniversary of Black Monday
Imagine watching almost 22% of your entire account value vanish in one day. Let’s say your account was $500,000 on Friday and when you opened it on Monday morning it was off $110,000 and clocked in at just $390,000. Unsettling....
Read MoreOur Goal is Not to Outperform the Stock Market
This may come as a shock to you. Are you sitting down? Our aim at Johnson Wealth Management is not to beat the stock market. We are not a hedge fund. (And even they don’t always outperform the market). We don’t wake up...
Read MoreThe Best Quarter of the Stock Market
While September is the worst month for the stock market (September didn’t fail to end in the red this year either), the last three months of the year are usually the best for the S&P 500. As the above chart shows1, the fourth...
Read MoreAutomation: Making the Robots Work for You
You might be the kind of person that loves the feeling of reading an actual newspaper in the morning and sipping your coffee with ink-stained hands. If so, you may also still love writing checks and keeping a check register. You might...
Read MoreBeware of Charts!
I like charts. They make the Nerd-In-Me happy. At there best they can illustrate reality simply. They can also give false correlations. Like the one above.1 If one were to take this chart literally it might mean that you should be...
Read MoreThe Secret to Getting Rich
We human beings love secret knowledge. We love the idea that we might have access to inside information and know the *real* truth behind the curtain. We crave a compelling conspiracy theory, even if it’s just for entertainment...
Read MoreSeptember Slumps & The Seasonality of the Stock Market
September not only kicks off the Fall season but can be a month of falling prices for stocks. In fact, as the above chart reveals1, it’s infamous for being the worst performing month for the S&P 500 index. Wall Street loves to...
Read MoreThe Cash Conundrum for Conservative Investors
“Where am I going to put all the extra cash?” This question often gets posed to me when a client or prospect sells an asset like real estate or after a sale of a particular investment for reallocation purposes. And...
Read MoreInvestment Action in the Face of Uncertainty
In my most recent post, I revealed the big secret about economic and investment forecasts—no one knows. You can forecast your brains out about all the reasons the market will have a big or bad year, or why an investment bubble...
Read MoreNo One Knows: The Reality of Stock Market Forecasts
If someone asks me, “What do you think will happen in the stock market the rest of the year?” my primary answer is, “I don’t know.” I can even answer more broadly (without pomposity, I promise): “No...
Read More"I Don't Understand the Stock Market"
So say some in my office. Related statements follow: “It’s all paper money.” “I like hard assets.” “It’s gambling.” “I prefer something I can touch.” I understand the...
Read MoreThe Great Expectations of Investment Return
Expectations are a double-edged sword in relationships. Everyone has them. When they are regularly met, relational life between two parties can be bliss. When they are consistently unmet, it can be a dumpster fire. One popular...
Read MoreThe Compound Interest of Everything
The law of compound interest is everywhere. If you invest deeply in your relationships, they will grow. If you take the time to care for your family in everyday ordinary ways, they can add up meaningful ripple effect upon future...
Read MoreThe 5 Ws and 2 Hs of an Emergency Fund
The process of building an emergency fund can be considered the training wheels of personal finance. Since it’s the first step to becoming financially savvy, let’s use an educator’s interrogative grid to nail down the...
Read MoreWhy Would I Own Bonds?
In a low-interest rate environment, it’s normal to ask the question, “Why would I own bonds in my portfolio?” Or, as some have rhythmically remarked, “Why be a loaner when I can be an owner?” Here are some...
Read MoreOur Team is Expanding: Welcome Sani Fuimaono
We at Johnson Wealth Management want to help our clients live and leave a legacy. Our aim is to add more clients who resonate with this mission, so we are adding another advisor to our team. We are simultaneously a national and local...
Read MoreJuly 4th: More Than a Bar-B-Q
We at Johnson Wealth Management hope you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We know it has been an eventful year-and-a-half. If COVID restrictions lifted where you are located, we trust you were able to gather with some of those you...
Read More2 Investing Lessons from COVID-19
There are many lessons to be learned from the pandemic. Life is short. Getting outside is good for you. Rethink your work-family balance. And more. Here are a few investing lessons: #1 - Since markets move quickly, investment decisions...
Read MoreBlack Swan Events: Planning for What You Don't Know
You don’t know what you don’t know. Until you do. And then you beat yourself up for not knowing it sooner or think you should have known the whole time. This happens in investing too. We call it a black swan event. The term...
Read MoreThe Loving Gift of a Family Meeting & Family Estate Kit
This may come as a shock, but you are going to die. I get that considering your death isn’t the most chipper form of reading. Hear me out though, you need to not only consider it yourself but talk about it with your family and...
Read MorePontificating on Investments is Foolish
Having an educated opinion is one thing, but dogmatically asserting the direction of an investment has a record of making the pontificator eat one’s words. Historian Niall Ferguson, aptly wrote, “Nothing illustrates more...
Read MoreMemorial Day: A Marker for Remembrance & Reflection
The stock market is closed today. For good reason. It’s Memorial Day. What began as Decoration Day to commemorate the fallen in the Civil War by decorating their graves, over time became a day to remember those who died in all...
Read MorePlan for Investment Mistakes
The most famous investor that even those who couldn’t care less about the stock market have probably heard of is Warren Buffett. The noted Nebraskan is one of the wealthiest individuals in the world and heads up Berkshire...
Read MoreThe Rise & Fall of the Most Valuable Companies in the World
How does one even define what the most valuable company in the world is? One commonly used metric to get this valuation is through something called market cap. The market cap of a company is what stock market buyers and sellers say...
Read MoreLiving & Leaving a Legacy
We are an investment planning firm. We speak the language of risk management, financial planning, and asset allocation. Discussions of losses and profits, reallocations and diversifications, echo from our offices. But these...
Read MoreStock Market Returns: When 10% a Year Ain’t 10% a Year
“How much return should I expect if I invest in stocks?” A financial advisor might answer with brevity, “Ten percent.” Or she might give a more precise answer tagged to 1957 when the S&P 500 index began:...
Read MoreLooking for a Reason to Sell Your Stocks?
One of the hardest things about being a long-term investor is that there are always going to be reasons to sell. Since fear itself sells, there will be a headline somewhere that poo-poos investing in the stock market. If you are...
Read MoreThe Emotional Inequality of Investment Gains & Losses
You ever wonder why a gain on your monthly statement doesn’t affect you near as much as an equivalent loss? You may get a brief jolt of adrenaline to lift your spirits at the sight of a gain and not think about your investments...
Read MoreInvesting is Not a Casino
Ain’t the stock market just a casino for people that say they don’t gamble? Generally, no. Here are two reasons: First, investing in the stock market is investing in companies in the real world. You aren’t pulling...
Read MoreVolatility: The Subscription Price of Investing
Most of us are getting used to a barrage of monthly subscription costs adding up on our bank statements. Whether it’s the regular unveiling of new video streaming services for your (or your kids’!) favorite shows, and applications...
Read MoreWhat is Cryptocurrency?
Life is lived more and more online these days. For better or for worse, the boundaries between digital life in virtual worlds and physical life in the real world is getting thinner and thinner. One evidence of this is found in the rise...
Read More7 Ways to Respond to Stock Market Euphoria
Arguing about whether the stock market is in a period of euphoria or is continuing on in a secular bull market these days isn’t the point of this post. You can read those debates elsewhere. The goal here is to provide you with...
Read More7 Ways to Respond to a Stock Market Crash
Why post something with this title now? After all, the DOW hit all-time highs last week. Am I predicting a collapse? Nope. I’m simply preparing you for how to respond when it happens so that whenever it happens, you’re...
Read More8 Things to Remember When Seeking a Financial Advisor
It’s your money. Whether you earned it or inherited it, it is not your financial advisor’s money—it is yours. Therefore, you must take ultimate responsibility for it, and make sure the person(s) that you choose to...
Read MoreFinancial Media is Not Financial Advice
News and the truth are not always related. In fact, in some cases, they can be nearly opposites. One of the reasons for this is that we live in a world of infotainment. Infotainment is the blending of news with entertainment. The goal...
Read MoreHope in the Worst. Prepare for the Best.
You ever heard someone say, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”? It can come across as if the best is merely a wish, and the worst is more likely. It feels more glass half-empty than half-full. Buy the generator...
Read MoreWhat’s the Big Deal With Diversification?
Diversification is a bit of a buzzword in financial planning circles. You may not know much about investments, yet probably know that that diversification is important even if you don’t know what it means. So, what is it? And why...
Read MoreFight, Flight, or Freeze in Finance
Have you ever overreacted in your life? Ever made an emotional decision in response to a negative event that adversely affected you that was really hard to recover from? Yes? Me too. Human beings tend to respond to negative events via...
Read MoreIs Gold Safe?
You may have the perception that gold is safe. Certain late night commercials definitely give that impression. In your mind the stock market might equal risk and uncertainty while gold equals safety and security. There are a lot of...
Read MoreInvesting is Not A Video Game
You don’t have to be interested in the stock market or investments to have seen the news about Gamestop stock (GME). The story went viral, and there are plenty of articles written and people speaking about the details of it in...
Read MoreThe Stock Market Doesn’t Always Make Sense
The stock market, like life, doesn’t always make sense. As I mentioned in the previous blog, the market doesn’t always rise and fall based on whether our political team is winning or losing. Similarly, the stock market...
Read MoreThe Stock Market Doesn't Care About Your Politics
Last week was the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., as the 46th President of the United States of America. He is entering the presidency with many challenges like a global pandemic and a political climate that is rife with tension....
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