Individuals and Families

The United Kingdom has been front page news for a while now.  Since the Brexit vote last June, the U.K. has not stepped out of the limelight despite countless other events happening since then. Much has been discussed as of late about the elections that are happening across the globe, most notably in France and […]

At its March 15th meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to raise the federal funds rate target to 0.75%-1.00% – the third such increase since the Fed started tightening monetary policy in December 2015. As the move was widely anticipated, markets had little reaction. Two more rate increases are expected this year. Lost in the […]

After a very strong finish in 2016 following the Presidential election, U.S. stocks in the S&P 500 Index are up 6.5% so far in 2017 as of March 15th.  Positive economic data along with optimism surrounding President Trump’s economic policies have sent stocks higher.  As we mentioned last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit all-time […]

At the end of February, Warren Buffett decided to declare victory early on his ten year bet made with Protégé Partners.  The bet: What performs better over the ten year period starting at the beginning of 2008 – the S&P 500 or a group of five Fund of Funds (hedge funds).  The stakes: $1,000,000 to […]

Earlier this month, Snapchat parent company, Snap Inc., filed an initial public offering (IPO). This will be the first time outside investors can purchase stock in the company. Snap Inc.’s IPO is expected to be $3 billion, placing the overall value of the company at over $25 billion – bigger than Facebook when it did […]

The Dow did it.  It hit 20,000.  This is a monumental moment in market history that has made headlines the last couple of weeks.  Anytime such a height is reached, it makes you worry about the other side.  You may say to yourself something along the lines of “Time for the market to drop.” Whenever […]

On January 19, BDF held its Annual Client Event with over 300 clients and guests in attendance. Andrew Goldberg, Global Head of Client Investment Strategy for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, was the keynote speaker. His presentation entitled, “The Impact of the Election on 2017,” touched on the following themes: The tallest tree? While the current U.S. […]

All eyes are again on the Fed with their upcoming meeting December 13th and 14th.  As of November 30th, the futures market has priced in an interest rate increase with all but certainty.  The last time the Fed raised rates was a year ago now.  Most at that time thought interest rates would then increase several […]

The year of 2016 had many interesting twists and turns.  From the start of the year, which looked terrible (in fact the worst start to a calendar year in stock market history) to the unpredictable events scattered throughout the year, it would make you think 2016 was a rough one.  But in fact, it was […]

After a lengthy campaign marked by negativity and divisiveness on both sides, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. While it may be natural to devote this piece to a discussion about the potential implications of a Trump presidency on the economy and financial markets, we would like to instead focus on […]

The election season has come to an end and we now know the results.  This whole process has been nothing short of the classic phrase “It’s different this time” with the amount of surprises and distractions that came up along the way.  Yesterday the masses went to the polls and surprised the pollsters, and throughout […]