Ten years ago, on March 9, 2009, Modus Advisors opened its doors in Eden Prairie, MN. It was an inauspicious day to start a company, particularly in the financial services industry. The stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, had fallen 56.8% from its peak on October 9, 2007. What came to be
Q2 2018 Market Update
Market Update 2017 was a period when nearly everything worked for investors. This was most decidedly NOT the case for the first half of 2018. Indexes representing international equities, emerging markets, fixed income, and U.S. value stocks were all down between -2% and -7% for the first half of
Not So Small!
You may have heard that this week is National Small Business Week. The technical definition of a Small Business is an independent business with fewer than 500 employees, but I certainly think of businesses on the low end of that range when I hear the term. In 2013, 48% of the workforce was employed
The Glass is Half Full
Eight years ago to the day, March 9th, 2009, we opened our doors at Modus Advisors. In many respects, it was the absolute worst time to start an investment services and wealth planning business. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) peaked on
Where Do You Get Energy?
One of the hardest things in the politicized world we live in is to find unbiased information. I’m a Certified Financial Planner®, and about the farthest thing from a scientist or a physicist. When the topic of energy comes up, I’d love to be more informed, but the subject has generally been
Investing in The Stock Market is like Playing the Lottery!?
To many people, investing in the stock market is akin to playing the lottery. To these people, the stock market is rigged, and only the insiders or the big institutions have the ability to consistently make money in stocks. According to Gallup, the numbers bear this out.* In the spring of 2016,
The Reasons Not to Invest
I was cleaning out some files recently when I came across a 1992 Investors Guide from The American Funds Group. The 20 page brochure was in mint condition, having been buried in a file for many years. As I flipped through the pages, I came across a chart that is called “The Reasons Not to Invest”
Time
“Time” has been on my mind a lot lately. Our son Peter just graduated from high school, and I put together a slideshow of the 18 years since his birth. When the slideshow was completed and we all sat down to watch it, there were many smiles, many laughs, and a few tears. 18 years is a very long time
We Have Met the Enemy…
A friend and client sent me a copy of the prayer that was delivered by the Rev. Brian Konkol, Chaplain of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, to open the legislative session at the Minnesota State Capital on May 8, 2015. I was glad to see that prayer is still allowed in this setting, and the
