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Since World War II, obesity rates in the United States have skyrocketed, our net national savings rate has plummeted and American adults and kids alike have allocated a rapidly rising proportion of their free time to staring at electrons dancing on screens.

Since 1926, if you invested in the S&P 500 for any 16 year rolling time frame, you experienced a positive return 100% of the time. For all 10 year rolling time frames since 1926, you experienced positive returns 94% of the time. This shows that, historically speaking, if you invest for long enough the possibility of permanent loss is ZERO, AKA zero risk. 

In addition to the flowers, the chocolate, and the good champagne, remember these lasting financial planning ways to say I Love You every day to your dearest Valentine:

Follow the Golden Rule

Be as honest and accountable to your mate as you would like them to be with you about spending decisions and preferences.

The results of research which studies investor behavior and analyzes investor market returns, consistently shows that the average investor earns below-average returns.

For the twenty years ending 12/31/2015, the S&P 500 Index averaged 9.85% a year. A pretty attractive historical return. The average equity fund investor earned a market return of only 5.19%.

We understand that tax reform may be a lot to take in. Not to worry, we’ve gathered these key
topics to help keep you informed so you can have peace of mind.

Standard deduction

Markets crash all the time. You should, at minimum, expect stocks to fall at least 10% once a year, 20% once every few years, 30% or more once or twice a decade, and 50% or more once or twice during your lifetime. Those who don't understand this will eventually learn it the hard way.

Someone emailed me last week asking why this is:

Have you ever wondered exactly what those initials after a financial professional’s name mean?  You’re definitely not alone. The easy way to tell is to visit the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which provides a list of professional designations and what they mean.