Portfolio Advisors Blog

This year marks my 15^th year at Portfolio Advisors. As a 20-year-old college student at the Craig School of Business at Fresno State in 2006, I was offered an entry level position with the firm. I had no idea where this journey that began in 2006 would lead me, but I was filled with optimism and enthusiasm as I began to learn the ropes in a privately owned financial services company. Little did I know at the time that my journey would lead to me one day becoming President/CEO and owner at Portfolio Advisors. My journey was not an easy one, but I was blessed with two great mentors early on, the original owners of the firm, Gary and Mike Leffler. With their support and encouragement, I was determined to learn the business from the ground floor up. Boy, am I glad I did!

By: Andrew James (AJ) Flores, CFP®

The American Rescue Plan, signed into law on March 11^th, includes among other things an expansion of the Child Tax Credit.  This legislation increased the maximum annual tax credit from $2,000 per child under age 17 to $3,000 per child under age 18 or $3,600 per child under the age of 6.  Additionally, the Child Tax Credit has gone from being only partially refundable to being fully refundable.

By: Andrew James (AJ) Flores, CFP®

The American Families Plan (AFP) is a proposal put forth by the Biden administration meant to fund new federal education and family programs. 

By: Devin Watts, CFP®

By: Jordan Naffa, LUTCF®

The Biden administration recently announced that about half of the country’s adults are fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus. As a result, states are preparing to get back to normal by lifting capacity and distancing restrictions for most businesses and activities. Many economists believe that the United States could enjoy its fastest year of growth in decades. In light of the good news, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to an average of 4.2% in April. These levels have not been seen since the financial crisis of 2008. The adverse effects of inflation from an overheated economy and low-interest-rate environments are topics of discussion advisors are often addressing with their clients.

By: Andrew James (AJ) Flores, CFP®

The first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations has lifted many spirits and raised expectations for the new year.

Those shots have also inspired a sharp rise in travel bookings among folks who are hoping it will finally be safe to jump on an airplane and lounge at a luxury hotel in the spring or summer of 2021.

Since the end of January, #YOLO has been a rallying cry on internet message boards where amateur investors have driven up stock prices for video game retailer GameStop and movie theatre chain AMC. And while everyone should have opportunities to build wealth via the markets, we believe this particular group of rebels are only half-right about their investment strategy.

It’s true that “you only live once,” and you need to make the most of the financial opportunities available to you. But that’s exactly why we prefer measured, long-term financial planning to short-term speculation.

Understanding how market prices are determined can help investors stick to a long-term investment approach based in empirical evidence as opposed to following the latest trend on social media or the mainstream news. Click here to read this short article from Dimensional Fund Advisors that reminds us of the futility of trying to outguess the markets and why we should “scroll past the news on stock price spikes”. Dimensional Fund Advisors also published an additional article regarding the activity surrounding GameStop and the importance of retaining portfolio trading flexibility, which you can view by clicking here.

I think we can all agree that there are a lot of things we won’t miss about 2020. It was just the year that kept on giving (hoping you are sensing some sarcasm here). Despite the ups and downs, we want to give a nod to the disciplined investor for staying the course, sticking to your plan, and allowing markets to work for you in good times and bad. Click here to read an article from Dimensional Fund Advisors reflecting upon the events of 2020 and just how the disciplined investor benefited from such a tumultuous year in the markets.