Last week the market posted strong gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching its highest level in two months, and on track for its best October in history.[1] Inflation reports were about what analysts expected, leading investors to believe that, while the Fed is still expected to raise interest rates another 0.75% in November, the pace of increases will slow after that.
More good news is that the economy came out of a technical recession in the third quarter. A recession is loosely defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, or six months where the economy shrinks. The quarter ending September 30th showed GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, growing at an annual pace of 2.6%.[2]
My crystal ball has a few cracks in it, so we can’t say if the market will continue to recover or drop back down. What I do know is that, in my 20 years as a financial advisor, there have only been a handful of times when we’ve had the opportunity to buy stocks at a 20% discount. Think back to the tech bubble bursting in 2002, the financial crisis of ’08 and ’09, or even the pandemic drop in March of 2020. Looking back and knowing what you know now, would you have bought stock in each of those down markets?
In addition to continuing to invest, or even invest more if you have cash on the sidelines, other opportunities are tax loss harvesting and Roth conversions. If you own mutual funds in a taxable account, reach out to your advisor now.
Mutual funds are taxed in three ways. First, dividends and interest earned by the stocks and bonds the fund owns are passed to owners of the mutual fund. Second, if you sell the fund, the difference between what you paid for it and what you sell it for is taxed as a capital gain. It’s the third way mutual funds are taxed that may seriously affect you this year. If investors pulled their money out of mutual funds, the managers had to sell stocks or bonds to generate that cash. If there was a gain on those sales, that gain is distributed to everyone who still owns the fund on the record date, which is usually around mid-December. Which means your investments can be down and you have a big tax bill. We recommend reaching out to your advisor and tax professional to see if changing your investments makes sense from a tax perspective.
Your action item this week is for everyone with student loans who is working in public service. There is a limited waiver that must be filed by October 31st if you left public service during the pandemic, or if you are a teacher working towards Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Under this waiver, borrowers are able to count their time making payments towards both programs, TLF and PSLF. You can learn more at studentaid.gov.
We have some great educational events coming up, so be sure to follow us on Facebook and check out our website at covingtonalsina.com.
Investment advice offered through Great Valley Advisor Group, a Registered Investment Advisor.
All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investment(s) may be appropriate for you, contact the appropriate qualified professional prior to making a decision.
[1] MarketWatch Dow hits 2-month high by Joseph Adinolfi and Barbara Kollmeyer 10/28/22
[2] Yahoo!finance Stock market news live updates by Dani Romero 10/27/22