A biweekly newsletter from our Founder & Portfolio Manager, Ryan A. Hughes. Straight talk on markets, taxes, and money. Read by 2,700+ people who value clear thinking.
Stocks are down. Oil is up. Bond yields are up. And most people are just trying to figure out what is actually going on. I thought about a few different approaches for this post. Historical geopolitical conflicts and stock returns. How the new Fed Chairman might navigate this. But I kept coming back to the...
Software stocks have lost $2 trillion in market cap over the past twelve months. Salesforce is down 30%. Workday is down 33%. This selloff has a name: the SaaSpocalypse. Here’s what it means for your portfolio. Let me preface this by saying I am by no means an AI expert. I don’t know how to...
The past few weeks have been quite pivotal for the markets and the global economy. I will talk about the SaaSapocalypse later (the AI revolution is happening in real-time, folks), but today I wanted to talk about the Fed Chair nomination of Kevin Warsh. I think this has a major impact on interest rates, inflation,...
We’re updating this list in 2026 to reflect the ongoing changes in the personal finance landscape here in San Diego. The advisory industry has continued to evolve over the past several years: through consolidation, shifting service models, and changes in how firms structure advice and client relationships. For example, we previously included Dowling & Yahnke...
Last updated: January 2026 Credit cards designed for those who spend significant amounts of money become a gateway to a world of luxury. If your income is high and this type of spending works for you, it’s something to consider as part of your wealth management strategy. Yet, with so many credit card offerings specifically...
The S&P 500 was up 16% last year, despite the many concerns we had this time last year. If you recall, we entered the year concerned about how the market would respond to Trump’s proposed policies (import tariffs, immigration crackdown, a Bitcoin Reserve, etc.). Some of the concerns we had at the time were warranted,...
As stocks continue to march higher, there is little doubt that we are close, if not already in, bubble territory. Of course, there is no definitive metric that tells us whether or not we have crossed that line. But if you look at valuation metrics, they tell quite a story. Just about every major valuation...
By now, everyone is aware that we are living through the era of Artificial Intelligence. AI stock returns have been impressive. Businesses are changing the way they operate, realizing that many entry-level positions can be eliminated. Entire industries are being rebuilt from the ground up. Whether that’s progress or cause for concern is up for...
There is ample evidence that the economy has weakened and continues to do so. Most recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that job growth between April 2024 and March 2025 was revised down by 911,000 from about 1.79 million to roughly 879,000. 911,000 is a massive revision figure. It’s the largest since 2000....
There’s a new-ish investment strategy out there (new-ish to retail investors, at least), direct indexing, that’s gaining popularity among high-income earners. It seems to be on the radar of many people, as we’ve had numerous conversations with prospects and clients on this topic lately. Direct indexing, in a nutshell, is a pretty straightforward process: create...
I recently sat down with ABC 10News to share some thoughts on how investors can approach today’s stock and crypto markets. The key takeaway? Know what you are investing in and have patience. The point of investing is to prepare for the future. Not just your goals, but also to stay ahead of inflation. If...
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with their money isn’t investing haphazardly. It’s the opposite. They’re too conservative. Convinced the market is overvalued and due for a correction, these people stay on the sidelines, waiting to buy back in. They may have hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars sitting in cash...
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