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Investing & Markets

How Presilium thinks about long-term investing: building a portfolio, riding out volatility, staying invested, and reading the market cycle. The flagship hub and largest body of content. Splits into four sub-cluster spokes so episodes stop competing: portfolio construction, market volatility, staying invested, and market outlook.

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126 pieces

Everything on investing & markets

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Financial Planning Fridays #127: Our Core Investment Belief

Presilium shares its core investment belief: the world continues to improve over time, and owning a diversified set of quality businesses through stocks is one of the most effective ways to grow family wealth over the long term. The video frames this philosophy as the foundation for staying invested through market cycles.

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Financial Planning Fridays #126: The Worst Investment Strategy

After two strong years for the S&P 500, record amounts of new money have flowed into the index even as it has grown more expensive. This Presilium video explains why chasing the recent top performer can be one of the worst long-term strategies and makes the case for diversification and discipline over recency bias.

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Financial Planning Fridays #125: Consistency Counts

This Presilium video explains why consistency is often overlooked when evaluating investment returns. Historically, a portfolio that delivered steadier, more reliable returns has at times outperformed a more volatile one, because smaller drawdowns can compound more favorably and may help investors stay the course toward their long-term goals. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #124: Investing Before a Global Crisis

Many investors fear committing money right before a global crisis. This Presilium video studies seven major historical events, including downturns and wars, to show how markets recovered over time and why a long-term, stay-invested approach has historically rewarded patient investors despite scary headlines.

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Financial Planning Fridays #123: 2025 Market Outlook

Presilium's 2025 market outlook uses historical patterns to address three key questions for the year ahead, beginning with whether stocks can continue performing well for a third consecutive year after back-to-back 20% gains. The video frames history as a guide for setting expectations, not a guarantee of results.

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Financial Planning Fridays #122: Politics and Your Investments

With a new presidential term beginning, this Presilium video examines how the S&P 500 has performed across past administrations and why long-term investors generally should not overhaul their strategy based on election outcomes. It encourages staying focused on the financial plan rather than the political cycle.

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Financial Planning Fridays #121: 2024 Year End Review

Presilium's 2024 year-end review reflects on a strong year for markets and revisits the historical signals that informed its optimistic outlook entering the year. The video reinforces the firm's habit of using market history as context and the value of staying invested through changing conditions.

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Financial Planning Fridays #117: Staying Invested in 2024

Each year, founder Jerry revisits the crises of his career, each of which felt like a unique reason to sell at the time. This Presilium video walks through decades of market scares to show that, despite new risks every year, staying invested has historically kept clients' plans on track and rewarded patience.

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The Big Question #18: How Should I Invest?

In this Big Question episode, Presilium answers how to invest by starting with your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance rather than chasing hot picks. It outlines a disciplined, diversified, long-term approach built on owning quality businesses and staying invested through market cycles.

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Financial Planning Fridays #115: What Do You Own in Your Portfolio?

Most people describe their accounts as simply 'stocks and bonds,' but this Presilium video reframes the picture: investors actually own small stakes in many of the world's most innovative, profitable, and well-run companies. That ownership mindset helps investors stay confident and patient through market swings.

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Financial Planning Fridays #113: How Long Can Stocks Go Up?

After the current bull market's two-year anniversary, this Presilium video looks at what prior bull markets did past the same milestone. Of 27 bull markets since 1928, twelve lasted longer than two years, with strong average and median returns afterward, offering historical context for investors wondering how long stocks can rise.

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The Big Question #17: When should I become more conservative?

In this Big Question episode, Presilium answers when to become more conservative with investments. The decision should be driven by your time horizon and when you'll need the money, especially nearing or in retirement, rather than by age alone, balancing the need for stability with the need for ongoing growth.

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Financial Planning Fridays #112: Determining Your Investment Mix

Your stock-to-bond mix is the single biggest driver of long-term portfolio outcomes. Because Presilium plans for clients to live to at least 95, holding too many bonds can lower long-term growth and limit the goals you can fund. Most people can responsibly hold a higher stock allocation than they assume.

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Financial Planning Fridays # 110: Why You Should Rebalance

Rebalancing means moving your portfolio back to its target allocation as markets rise and fall. Most investors know they should do it but rarely do, often because they never set a defined target allocation or a rule for when to act. A disciplined process makes rebalancing systematic instead of emotional.

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Financial Planning Fridays #108: Stress Testing Your Portfolio

Stress testing means evaluating how your portfolio would behave in a sharp market decline while conditions are still calm. Done in advance, it confirms you can comfortably hold your strategy through the next temporary downturn rather than abandoning it at the worst time.

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Financial Planning Fridays #106: Market Performance After the Fed Cuts

With the Federal Reserve expected to begin cutting interest rates, Presilium reviews how the S&P 500 has historically performed after prior rate-cutting cycles began since 1980. Historically, average returns following the start of rate cuts have been positive across one-, three-, and longer-term horizons, though past patterns may not repeat. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #104: The Best Performing Stock of All Time

Drawing on Hendrik Bessembinder's July 2024 research on which U.S. stocks generated the highest long-term returns, this episode uses the best-performing stock in history to explain why Presilium avoids concentrated individual-stock bets. The research suggests most long-term market gains have come from a small handful of stocks that are nearly impossible to identify in advance. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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The Big Question #15: What if this time is different?

This Big Question episode addresses the recurring investor fear that the current market environment is uniquely dangerous. While details always differ, history shows markets have repeatedly recovered, and abandoning a long-term plan because 'this time is different' has historically been costly.

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Financial Planning Fridays #103: Market Returns After 5% Pull Backs

When the market fell sharply in early August 2024, Presilium followed its plan and rebalanced client accounts, an approach designed to add to stock exposure after meaningful declines from a prior rebalance. Drawing on Goldman Sachs data since 1980, this episode reviews how forward returns after such pullbacks have historically tended to look. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #102: Protecting Yourself from Sudden Market Declines

Sudden, sharp market declines can occur at any time and cannot be predicted, so they must be planned for in advance. Reviewing the six major S&P 500 declines of 20% or more since 1980 shows that despite these drops, the market rose significantly, underscoring the value of preparation over prediction.

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Financial Planning Fridays #101: Annual Market Declines

Intra-year stock market declines occur in nearly every year, yet markets frequently still finish the year positive. Using JP Morgan data showing each year's largest S&P 500 drop alongside its full-year return, this episode reframes routine declines as expected events and potential opportunities rather than reasons to fear.

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The Big Question #14: What do we do if the Market keeps going up?

This Big Question episode addresses the anxiety of investing while markets keep climbing to new highs. Because markets spend much of their time near record levels, waiting for a pullback often means missing growth; a disciplined plan guides how to stay invested responsibly even at all-time highs.

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Financial Planning Fridays #99: Building Real Wealth

True investment returns must be measured net of inflation to understand their impact on real wealth. Viewed this way, stocks have historically built far more purchasing power than many investors realize, especially compared with lower-returning assets that struggle to keep pace with inflation.

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Financial Planning Fridays #98: Mid-Year 2024 Update

This mid-year 2024 update reviews how the first half of the year played out against Presilium's January 2024 outlook, which cited reasons for optimism including strong follow-up years after good years, favorable election-year tendencies, and the potential durability of a new bull market.

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Financial Planning Fridays #95: More Votality, Please!

Many investors try to minimize or avoid volatility, but over the long term it has historically accompanied the higher returns stocks have delivered relative to assets like gold, bonds, and cash. Volatility can be viewed as the potential compensation for bearing short-term uncertainty, which is why long-term investors may choose to tolerate it rather than fear it. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Tips and Tricks for Today and Tomorrow: Episode 6 – Sequence of Return Risk

This episode explains sequence of return risk, the danger that poor market returns early in retirement can permanently shrink a portfolio because you are withdrawing while values are down. It covers why the order of returns matters once you start spending and how planning can cushion against an unlucky early stretch.

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Financial Planning Fridays #93: Predicting Market Declines

Using a First Trust chart of global crises over 55 years, this episode argues that market-moving events cannot be reliably predicted, and that selling long-term stock investments in reaction to scary headlines typically harms returns. The market has recovered and advanced through every past crisis despite the fear at the time.

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Financial Planning Fridays #92: Keep a Positive Mindset

Drawing on 150 years of S&P 500 returns, this episode shows that positive years far outnumber negative ones and that severe down years are rare. The takeaway is that focusing on infrequent large losses often pushes investors to sell prematurely, while a positive long-term mindset helps them stay invested and capture market growth.

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Financial Planning Fridays #90: Your Lifetime Return

This episode introduces the idea of a lifetime return, the S&P 500's growth since the day you were born, achieved with no research or trading. It contrasts that effortless market return with the much lower returns most investors actually earn, arguing that behavior and staying invested, not activity, determine real long-term results.

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Tips and Tricks for Today and Tomorrow: Episode 4 – The Value of Starting Early

This episode shows the value of starting to invest early, demonstrating how compounding rewards time more than the amount contributed. A saver who begins earlier can end up ahead of one who starts later but contributes more, because each early dollar has more years to grow.

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Financial Planning Fridays #89: Global Financial Crisis Case Study

This episode revisits the Global Financial Crisis as a case study in enduring severe but temporary market declines. It frames steep drawdowns as the price investors occasionally pay for stocks' superior long-term returns, and argues that being prepared and staying invested makes even the worst declines survivable.

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Financial Planning Fridays #88: Market Returns in Election Years

This episode reviews how the stock market has historically performed in presidential election years, finding that contentious politics and negative ad cycles have not derailed long-term returns. The message is to ignore election noise and stick with a long-term investment plan rather than reacting to political headlines.

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Financial Planning Fridays #86: Stay Ahead of Inflation

Using the rising price of a postage stamp as a proxy for everyday inflation, this episode shows how prices have climbed roughly 15-fold over 60 years and why investments must outpace inflation to preserve purchasing power. It explains that historically, owning stocks has been the most reliable way to stay ahead of rising costs.

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The Big Question #11: How Are You So Optimistic?

This episode answers why the team stays optimistic about markets despite constant negative news. The case rests on a long-term belief that the world keeps improving and that owning stocks captures that progress, so patient, disciplined investors are rewarded over time even when headlines are grim.

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Financial Planning Fridays #85: Temporary Market Declines During Bull Markets

This episode shows that bull markets do not rise in a straight line; the current rally of about 49% since October 2022 included several 5-10% pullbacks. Reviewing prior bull markets, it demonstrates that enduring temporary declines is the normal price of capturing the strong gains that bull markets ultimately deliver.

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Financial Planning Fridays #84: Why We Don’t Recommend Individual Stocks

This episode shares the top reasons Presilium does not recommend individual stocks. Chief among them: your stock-versus-bond asset allocation drives most of your long-term return, while which specific stocks you pick and when contributes far less, so a diversified approach better serves most clients than concentrated single-stock bets.

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Financial Planning Fridays #82: Our Investment Allocation and Performance Report

This episode walks through the detailed reports Presilium provides clients, showing exactly how a portfolio is allocated across stocks, bonds, alternatives, and cash and how those holdings are performing. The reports give clients transparency into both their investment mix and their results.

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The Big Question #10: When Do We Get Out?

This episode answers a frequent client question: when do we get out of the market? The answer is that reliably timing an exit and re-entry is nearly impossible, and attempting it usually costs investors more than it saves. A disciplined long-term plan, not market timing, is the better path through volatility.

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Financial Planning Fridays #81: Market Returns After a Strong February

This episode examines what a strong start to the year has historically meant for stock returns, drawing on Bespoke Research data on past market performance through mid-year and year-end after various early-year gain ranges. It is a data-driven, educational look at seasonal patterns, not a prediction of what may happen next. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #80: The Benefits of Dollar Cost Averaging

This episode explains the benefits of dollar-cost averaging, investing fixed amounts at regular intervals. Using a flat-market example, it shows how steady contributions buy more shares when prices are low, allowing investors to profit even during volatile or declining stretches that feel discouraging.

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Financial Planning Fridays #79: The 15 Year Anniversary of the Global Financial Crisis

Marking the 15-year anniversary of the 2008 market low, this episode draws three critical lessons from the Global Financial Crisis: severe declines cannot be perfectly predicted, no one reliably called the bottom, and investors who stayed the course were rewarded as markets recovered and reached new highs.

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Financial Planning Fridays #78: Life and Market Milestones

The S&P 500 closed above 5,000 for the first time on February 9, 2024. Looking back at index levels alongside personal life milestones shows how far the market has climbed over a lifetime, reinforcing the case for staying invested through decades rather than reacting to short-term headlines.

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Financial Planning Fridays #76: We love investing in stocks!

Investing in the leading companies of the world has historically been a reliable way to grow wealth faster than inflation, helping families reach larger goals. Although markets feel unpredictable day to day, ownership of stocks over the long term has rewarded patient investors who stay the course.

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Financial Planning Fridays #75: Investor Patience Pays Off

The S&P 500 spent roughly 30 months going nowhere before a strong rebound carried it to new highs in early 2024. The episode illustrates why staying invested through flat or declining stretches matters: rewards often arrive suddenly, and patient investors are positioned to capture the recovery.

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Financial Planning Fridays 74: The Best Investment Opportunities

Severe market declines of 33% or more are rare, occurring only a handful of times since World War II, and have historically been followed by strong rebounds. This episode frames deep downturns as uncomfortable but potentially meaningful long-term opportunities for disciplined investors who stay the course. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #73: All Time Market High

When the S&P 500 reaches a new all-time high, some experts warn of an imminent crash while others insist the rally is just starting. The episode explains why record highs are a normal feature of a long-term uptrend and why a disciplined plan matters more than market predictions.

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Financial Planning Fridays #71: 2024 Market Outlook

Presilium's 2024 market outlook looks to market history for three reasons to remain optimistic and stay invested. It examines how the S&P 500 has historically performed following exceptional years, framing the case for discipline rather than market timing heading into the year.

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Financial Planning Fridays #70: Why We Invest

This episode explains why Presilium invests rather than only saves: investing builds a future bigger than saving alone could reach. Using a long-term example, it shows how compounding over decades dramatically reduces what you must set aside to reach a major goal like $1 million.

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Financial Planning Fridays #69: 2023 Year-End Review

This year-end review revisits 2023's strong market returns and how the historical patterns Presilium highlighted in its 2023 outlook played out. All three reasons for optimism held true, reinforcing the value of studying market history and staying invested through the year.

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Financial Planning Fridays #68: Stock vs. Bond Income During Retirement

Using a 30-year example starting in 1993, this episode compares income from stocks versus bonds in retirement. While bonds offer higher initial yields, stocks have historically grown their income over time, an important consideration for retirees planning income that keeps pace with rising costs.

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Financial Planning Fridays #67: Friends Who Panic

This episode recounts a client urged by a well-meaning friend to sell everything and move into gold and cash ahead of a predicted crash. It explains why abandoning a carefully designed, plan-matched portfolio on panic-driven advice can derail long-term goals, and why discipline beats reacting to predictions.

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Financial Planning Fridays #66: Your Investment Mix Menu

The blend of stocks and bonds in your accounts is the dominant driver of long-term returns. This episode presents a menu of allocation options and explains why choosing a mix that matches your financial plan, then rebalancing over time, is one of the most important investing decisions a family makes.

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Financial Planning Fridays #65: Stay Invested Update

This update revisits more than 20 years of crises, each of which offered a seemingly good reason to sell stocks at the time. It shows that every year carried its own new-feeling risks, yet staying invested through them all rewarded disciplined investors who looked past the headlines.

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Financial Planning Fridays #63: Year-End Planning

As the year closes, several planning moves can reduce taxes and strengthen your position: harvesting tax losses in taxable accounts, reviewing Roth conversion opportunities, maximizing contributions, and checking required distributions. This episode walks through the year-end steps Presilium completes for clients before December 31.

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Financial Planning Fridays #62: The New Bond Market Crash

Long-dated bonds maturing in 20 years or more declined more than 40% from their December 2021 high as interest rates rose, a major drawdown that drew little attention. This episode explains why long-term bonds are so sensitive to rate changes and what that means for how investors should think about bond risk.

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The Big Question #5: How’s my return?

How is my return? The honest answer is that a single period's number means little on its own. This episode explains why investment performance should be measured against your personal financial plan and long-term goals, not market headlines or a friend's results, and why the right benchmark is whether you are on track.

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Financial Planning Fridays #61: Normal Market Declines

Over the past 15 years the market experienced an average temporary decline of about 16.8% per year, yet the S&P 500 still averaged roughly 10.67% annually over that span. This episode explains why intra-year declines are normal, expected, and the price investors pay for long-term returns.

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Financial Planning Fridays #59: Market Returns During Government Shutdowns

Government shutdowns generate alarming headlines, but history shows they have had little lasting effect on the stock market. This episode explains what a shutdown actually is, reviews how markets have performed during past shutdowns, and reinforces why short-term political events should not drive long-term investment decisions.

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Financial Planning Fridays #57: Finish Strong

After roughly 20 months of uncertainty and constant doomsday headlines, investors who maintained their strategy, rebalanced when appropriate, and stayed disciplined were rewarded. This episode reinforces why tuning out media noise and sticking to a long-term plan is one of the most valuable things an investor can do.

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Financial Planning Fridays #54: Temporary Market Declines

The S&P 500 finished up 10% or more in 55 of the 95 years since 1928, yet 23 of those strong years also included a temporary decline of 10% or more. This episode shows that meaningful pullbacks are normal even in winning years, so investors should expect them and stay the course.

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Financial Planning Fridays #52: Four Keys From a Year of Videos

Marking the one-year anniversary of Financial Planning Fridays, this episode distills the series into four core principles that have helped people make better financial decisions and stay calm through uncertainty, reinforcing the value of a plan, discipline, and a long-term perspective.

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Financial Planning Fridays #51: A More Balanced Look at Dividend Stocks

Dividend stocks are a popular source of seemingly certain retirement income, but focusing on yield alone can be misleading. This episode explains why Presilium prefers generating income from a portfolio's total return rather than dividend yield, since a dividend is not free money and chasing yield can distort a portfolio.

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Financial Planning Fridays #50: Buy More of Your Worst Investments

Rebalancing often means buying more of your worst-performing assets and trimming winners, a disciplined way to buy low and sell high. This episode explains the many forms rebalancing takes, from shifting between stocks and bonds to moving among stock types, and why broad diversification supports the process.

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Financial Planning Fridays #49: Fortune Tellers and Market Forecasters

Market forecasters are often no more reliable than fortune tellers, yet their predictions dominate the news and tempt investors to abandon their plans. This episode explains why no one can consistently predict the market and why tuning out the noise and staying invested is the more dependable path.

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The Big Question #2: What will the Fed do from here?

What will the Fed do from here? This episode explains why predicting Federal Reserve rate decisions is difficult even for professionals, how the Fed weighs inflation and employment, and why investors are better served focusing on their long-term plan than trying to position around each policy move.

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Financial Planning Fridays #47: What will stocks do in the 2nd half of 2023

After the market's strong start in the first half of 2023, this episode reviews S&P 500 data back to 1937 to examine how stocks have historically performed in the second half following strong first-half returns. The data shows that strong momentum has more often than not continued through year-end, though history offers no assurance about any given year. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #46: Stocks Are the Best Long-Term Investments

For long-term goals, stocks have historically been a resilient asset rather than the riskiest. This episode reviews historical data showing how the probability of a positive S&P 500 return has risen as the holding period lengthens, illustrating why time horizon, not short-term volatility, may be a more useful way to think about investment risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #45: A History of Bull Markets

A new bull market began on June 8, 2023, when the S&P 500 closed 20% above its prior bear-market low. This episode reviews all 15 bull markets since World War II to show their typical length and magnitude, offering historical context for what a new bull market has meant for long-term investors.

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The Big Question #1: Where do you see the market going from here?

Where do you see the market going from here? This episode explains why no one, including professionals, can reliably predict short-term market direction, and why investors are better served by a disciplined, long-term plan than by chasing forecasts about where the market is headed next.

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Financial Planning Fridays #43: Three Key Ways to Grow Your Wealth

Growing wealth over a lifetime, through the inevitable ups and downs of markets and life, comes down to a few fundamentals. This episode covers three key drivers, beginning with having a regularly updated financial plan you fully understand, and the disciplined behaviors that turn that plan into lasting wealth.

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Financial Planning Fridays #002: Special Episode: The Bear Market is Over

When the S&P 500 closed 20% above its October 12, 2022 low, it officially ended the bear market that began in June 2022 and started a new bull market. This episode reviews how negative headlines persisted throughout the eight-month rally, reinforcing why staying invested through pessimism matters for long-term results.

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Financial Planning Fridays #42: Higher Earnings = Higher Market

In the short term, stock prices move quickly on emotion and good or bad news. Over the long term, the market has marched steadily higher because the earnings of the world's leading companies have grown. This episode explains why rising corporate earnings, not daily sentiment, are the durable driver of long-term market value.

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Financial Planning Fridays #41: A Preview of 2033

Each year, the Abundance 360 conference gathers entrepreneurs, investors, and executives who believe humanity may see more progress in the next ten years than in the past hundred. This episode connects that wave of innovation to why a long time horizon and staying invested can position a portfolio to participate in accelerating technological change. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #40 What Has Lower Inflation Meant for Stocks?

The Consumer Price Index fell from 9.1% in July 2022 to 4.9%, a 4.2-point drop, with further declines expected. This episode explains what the CPI measures and reviews how comparable historical declines in inflation have related to stock market returns, while noting that past patterns are not guarantees.

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Financial Planning Fridays #39: Preparing for the Next Bull Market

After 11 months in a bear market, with the S&P 500 down more than 25% from its January 2022 high, this episode reframes the downturn as an opportunity. Handled properly, a bear market is a time to reposition a portfolio in preparation for the next bull market, which often arrives sooner than headlines suggest.

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Financial Planning Fridays #38: A 100-Year Plan

Some Presilium financial plans use hypothetical, multigenerational projections that can illustrate wealth lasting for decades. This episode invites you to consider a 100-year time horizon, which may reframe how you think about investment decisions, withdrawal rates, and how wealth could be positioned to benefit future generations. Projections are illustrative only. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #37: DJIA 351,000

Because many retirements Presilium plans last at least 30 years, portfolios may need to provide both income and growth across that span. This episode uses a long-range, hypothetical Dow Jones illustration to explain the concept of long-term compounding, emphasizing that decades-long time horizons can call for staying invested rather than reacting to short-term moves. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #36: The Importance of Diversification

Diversification means holding a variety of stocks, bonds, and real estate so a portfolio matches a client's plan and short- and long-term goals. This episode reviews annual returns across ten different asset classes to show why no single asset class wins every year and why spreading risk supports reaching long-term goals.

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Financial Planning Fridays #35: Two More Reasons to be Optimistic in 2023

After a strong first quarter of 2023, this episode shares two more reasons for optimism for the rest of the year, building on the firm's earlier commentary. It reviews historical data on every year since 1950 when the S&P 500 returned 7% or more in the first quarter and how those years tended to look afterward. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Financial Planning Fridays #31: Don’t Invest Like Your Neighbors

This episode draws on the American Association of Individual Investors' weekly sentiment survey, run since 1987, which asks investors whether they expect the market to rise or fall. It explains why crowd sentiment is often most pessimistic near market lows, and why a disciplined, plan-based approach beats copying what neighbors are doing.

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Financial Planning Fridays #30: Now is the best time to be alive

We live in an age of unprecedented technological progress, with breakthroughs in medicine, transportation, and communication transforming daily life. This episode argues that this accelerating progress is a reason for long-term optimism, and that staying invested lets you participate in the growth created by human innovation over time.

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Financial Planning Fridays #001: Special Episode: The Failure of SVB

This special episode breaks down the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed after rumors of trouble triggered a rapid bank run amplified by email and social media. It explains how the run unfolded, the broader implications for the banking system, and what long-term investors should and should not do in response.

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Financial Planning Fridays #29: Emergency Drill

This episode is a behavioral exercise: imagine your investment accounts are down 40% in a market free fall with no end in sight, then notice how you feel. The drill helps you gauge your true risk tolerance and pre-commit to a disciplined response before a real downturn forces emotional decisions.

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Financial Planning Fridays #28: Investing During a Recession

Since mid-2022, debate has raged over whether the U.S. economy is in or near a recession. This episode explains what a recession is, characterized by declining economic activity, rising unemployment, and falling stock prices, and why disciplined, long-term investors typically benefit from staying invested rather than fleeing markets during downturns.

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Financial Planning Fridays #27: Improving After Tax Returns

Improving Financial Planning Fridays #27 covers two primary ways to increase your after-tax return: tax-loss harvesting, which uses realized losses to offset gains and income, and tax-aware portfolio management. After a volatile 2022, harvesting losses can lower your tax bill without changing your long-term investment strategy.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – Investing During a Recession

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#28) introduces Presilium's approach to investing during a recession: a recession is a phase of the economic cycle, not a reason to abandon a long-term plan. The full episode explains why disciplined, diversified investors stay invested rather than trying to time a downturn.

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Financial Planning Fridays #26: January Barometer

Financial Planning Fridays #26 examines the January Barometer, the market adage that the year's stock returns tend to mirror January's. After the S&P 500's best January since 2019 (up 6.2%), Presilium reviews the historical data on how reliable this indicator has been and why it should not drive your investment decisions.

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Insights

Financial Planning Friday’s – Improve Your After-Tax Returns

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#27) introduces strategies to improve your after-tax returns, chiefly tax-loss harvesting and tax-aware portfolio management. The full episode explains how keeping taxes low on your investments leaves more of your return compounding for you over the long term.

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Financial Planning Fridays #25: Don’t Give Your Investments a Day Off

Financial Planning Fridays #25 explains why your investments should never take a day off. Because the market's strongest days often cluster near its worst, stepping out can mean missing the rebounds that drive long-term growth. Once you have a solid plan, keep the stock portion invested through all market conditions.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – January Sets The Tone

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#26) previews Presilium's look at the January Barometer, the idea that the year's market returns follow January's lead. The full episode reviews the historical accuracy of this seasonal indicator and why it should not override a disciplined long-term investment plan.

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Insights

Financial Planning Friday’s – Never Take A Day Off

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#25) previews why your investments should never take a day off. The full episode shows that because the market's best days often arrive without warning, staying fully invested through volatility protects the long-term growth that timing strategies tend to forfeit.

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Financial Planning Fridays #24: Staying Invested

Financial Planning Fridays #24 reviews the major crises of the past twenty years, each of which felt unprecedented and offered a tempting reason to sell. Presilium shows that disciplined investors who stayed invested through every scare were rewarded, because 'this time is different' rarely justified abandoning a long-term plan.

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Insights

Financial Planning Friday’s – Tune Out the Noise

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#24) previews Presilium's review of two decades of market crises. The full episode explains why tuning out the noise and staying invested through each scare has rewarded patient investors, because the urge to sell during a crisis rarely improves long-term outcomes.

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Financial Planning Fridays #23: Market Votality Cushion

Financial Planning Fridays #23 explains the 'volatility cushion' Presilium uses for retired clients: the number of years a plan can meet spending needs using only income and bonds before touching stocks. A larger cushion gives the stock portion of a portfolio time to recover, reducing the risk of selling equities in a downturn.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – What’s Your Cushion

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#23) introduces the volatility cushion: how many years a retiree's plan can be funded from income and bonds before tapping stocks. The full episode explains why this buffer is a key retirement risk measure that lets the equity portion of a portfolio recover after a downturn.

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Financial Planning Fridays #21: 2023 Outlook

Financial Planning Fridays #21 shares three reasons Presilium was optimistic heading into 2023 after 2022 delivered the S&P 500's fifth-worst return in 90 years. The episode notes that diversified, rebalanced portfolios generally weathered the downturn better, leaving disciplined investors well positioned for a recovery.

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Financial Planning Fridays #20: 2022 Review

Financial Planning Fridays #20 reviews 2022, one of the most volatile market years on record. Presilium describes how it rebalanced client accounts 27 times, acting each time the S&P 500 moved up or down 5%, to systematically buy low and sell high and turn volatility into long-term opportunity.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – 3 Reasons to Be Optimistic in 2023

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#21) previews Presilium's 2023 market outlook and three reasons for optimism following a difficult 2022. The full episode explains why diversified, rebalanced portfolios held up better than the index and why disciplined investors were well positioned for the year ahead.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – 12 Facts to Wrap Up 2022

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#20) previews Presilium's year-end review of 2022 through twelve key facts. The full episode recaps one of the most volatile market years ever and how disciplined, systematic rebalancing helped turn that volatility into long-term opportunity for investors.

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Presilium Private Wealth – 2022 Annual Letter

Presilium Private Wealth's 2022 annual letter to clients, available as a download. The letter reflects on a volatile market year, the firm's disciplined investment approach, and its outlook heading into the new year. It is a time-bound firm communication rather than an evergreen educational article.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – Why It Currently Pays to Think Short-Term

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#18) introduces the yield curve and why it currently pays to think short-term with cash and bonds. The full episode explains how the yield curve, which plots interest rates across bond maturities, guides where to position the cash and fixed-income portion of a portfolio.

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Financial Planning Fridays #18: The Yeild Curve

Financial Planning Fridays #18 explains the yield curve, an illustration of interest rates on bonds across different maturity dates, and how it informs where to allocate money held in cash and bonds. Understanding maturities and the return of principal helps investors position the fixed-income side of a portfolio.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – The Power of Compound Growth

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#17) previews the power of compound growth. The full episode explains why compounding, often called the eighth wonder of the world, lets invested wealth grow dramatically over time and across generations, rewarding investors who start early and stay invested.

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Financial Planning Fridays #17: Compound Growth

Financial Planning Fridays #17 explores how powerful compounding can be over time. Einstein reportedly called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world, and Presilium clients are often surprised how large long-term projections become, especially when wealth is allowed to compound across multiple generations.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – What Can We Expect After The Midterm Elections

This Financial Planning Fridays teaser (#16) previews Presilium's look at market performance following U.S. midterm elections. The full episode reviews how stocks have historically behaved after midterms and reinforces why long-term investors should not make portfolio changes based on the election calendar.

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Financial Planning Fridays #16: Market Performance After Midterm Elections

This Financial Planning Fridays episode reviews historical U.S. stock-market behavior after midterm elections. Presilium examines past returns following prior midterms to add context after the November 2022 vote, emphasizing that history offers perspective for long-term investors rather than a prediction of future results.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – How to Pay for the Rising Cost of Education

This short teaser introduces the topic of investing for education, pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 14 on saving for college and the advantages of 529 college savings accounts. It frames the challenge of rising college costs that the full episode addresses in detail.

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Financial Planning Fridays #14: Investing for Education

This Financial Planning Fridays episode covers saving for college using 529 college savings accounts. With the average four-year private-college cost exceeding $218,000, Presilium explains how 529 plans offer tax-advantaged growth and flexibility, and why starting early helps families manage rising education expenses.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – What Is Your Cash Earning (And Could It Be More)?

This short teaser introduces the question of what your cash is actually earning, pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 13 on money market accounts. It frames the opportunity to improve returns on short-term and idle cash that the full episode explains.

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Financial Planning Fridays #13: Money Market

This Financial Planning Fridays episode explains how to optimize accounts not invested for the long term. Presilium discusses using money market accounts to earn more on cash you may need within a couple of years, while keeping risk and volatility low, noting rates had risen meaningfully by late 2022.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – Time IN the Market vs. Market Timing

This short teaser introduces the principle that time in the market matters more than market timing, pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 12. It frames the case for staying invested through up and down markets that the full episode supports with data.

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Financial Planning Fridays #12: Market Timing

This Financial Planning Fridays episode makes the case for sticking with a long-term investment plan through both up and down markets. Presilium reviews data behind the saying that time in the market matters more than market timing, showing why staying invested usually serves long-term investors better than attempting to predict short-term moves.

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Financial Planning Fridays #11: Bull vs Bear Markets

This Financial Planning Fridays episode defines bull and bear markets and uses recent examples to explain market cycles. A bear market is a decline of 20% or more from a peak; the S&P 500 was down about 23% as of October 2022. Presilium uses history to help investors keep perspective during downturns.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – Bull and Bear Markets

This short teaser introduces bull and bear markets, pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 11. It frames the discussion of recent market cycles and what they may signal that the full episode explores with examples.

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General: October 2022 Market Update

This standalone video is Presilium's October 2022 market update, reviewing recent market conditions and volatility during a difficult year for stocks. It provides perspective to help long-term investors stay grounded amid the downturn rather than react to short-term swings.

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Financial Planning Fridays #8: Tax Loss Swaps

This Financial Planning Fridays episode explains tax loss swaps, a strategy Presilium uses for clients when the opportunity arises. By selling an investment that is temporarily down to capture the realized loss, then reinvesting, the firm can offset future capital gains without making a large change to a client's overall allocation.

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Financial Planning Fridays #5: A Key Way to Manage Risk

Presilium measures portfolio risk by comparing the retirement income you need each year against what you hold in cash and short-term bonds. This shows how many years of spending you could cover without selling stocks in a downturn, helping retirees avoid forced sales at the worst time.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – A Plan for Success

This is a short series-intro stub pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 5, which covers a key way to manage portfolio risk. The full episode explains measuring risk by comparing the retirement income you need each year against the cash and short-term bonds you hold.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – A Plan for Success

This is a short series-intro stub pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 4, which covers rebalancing as the critical step during volatile markets. The full episode explains moving a portfolio back to its target allocation as markets move.

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Financial Planning Fridays #4: Rebalancing

Rebalancing means moving your portfolio back to its target investment allocation as markets rise and fall. Presilium builds each plan around a target mix, then rebalances to keep risk in line and systematically trim winners to buy what has lagged, a discipline most investors know about but rarely follow consistently.

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Financial Planning Friday’s – A Plan for Success

This is a short series-intro stub pointing to Financial Planning Fridays Episode 3, which identifies asset allocation as the number-one determinant of long-term investor success. The full episode explains the mix of stocks, bonds, alternatives, and cash in a portfolio.

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Financial Planning Fridays #3: Asset Allocation

Asset allocation is the mix of stocks, bonds, alternative investments, and cash in your portfolio, and it is the largest determinant of long-term investment results. Presilium explains how a written plan sets the right target mix for your goals and risk tolerance, simplifying wealth-management decisions.

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News and Insights

Where to Invest $100,000 During a Market Downturn

In this press feature, Presilium CEO Jerry Davidse shares his view that a market downturn can be an opportune time to consider investing cash, and that simple, low-cost, diversified funds can be one way to do it. The piece frames downturns as potential long-term opportunities for disciplined investors rather than as a specific recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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General: What We Can Learn from History and Reasons to be Optimistic

This video looks at what market history can teach investors during difficult periods and offers reasons for long-term optimism. It reminds viewers that markets have recovered from past downturns and that staying invested through volatility has historically rewarded patient, disciplined investors.

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Buying In A Bear Market – Where, How, and Why

This article covers the where, how, and why of investing during a bear market, framed around the habits of a long-term investor. It explains why disciplined buying through downturns, rather than waiting for a bottom, can position a portfolio to participate in the recoveries that have historically followed declines. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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Top 3 Ways to Benefit From A Down Market Today

This article outlines three ways long-term investors can approach a down market: putting cash to work at lower prices, considering Roth conversions while account values are depressed, and harvesting tax losses that may offset future gains. Each can help reframe volatility as a potential planning opportunity rather than a reason to react. Past performance does not guarantee future results; this is educational, not investment advice.

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