Ann Arbor MI Asset Management Firm
Back to Normal? The stock market had a strong 3rd quarter on the heels of a major recovery in quarter two. Having been broadsided by the pandemic during the first quarter, markets are now generally around level for the year (some parts up, others …
Perspective-A Very Useful Tool During Unusual TimesRead More
Bouncing Back? What the first quarter took, the second quarter has largely given back….at least in general. Though Covid-19 is still an unknown factor in the coming months and the resulting societal changes have been putting downward pressure on the …
Recovery? Yellow Light Short Term, Green Light Long TermRead More
We hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy! It has not been the same without seeing our clients in person, but we are grateful to be able to continue to assist you all even while we do our best to stay socially-distant from each …
The Black Swan Flyeth After an 11 year bull market, I was ready for a bear to show up sooner rather than later. However, I had no firm idea what would finally be the catalyst for a falling market as interest rates stayed low, the economy seemed …
Was 2019 to be Expected? The 4th quarter of 2018 was a very tough time in the stock market and the S&P 500 fell about 12% over just 90 days. The low point for the year, surprisingly, was Christmas Eve, when the Dow Jones fell about 700 points …
Stock’s Magical Levitation The stock market has been bumping along at lofty levels in recent months – trending somewhat up at times and then down again. Overall, it’s still been a very good year in the stock market, at least to date. Though the …
With a lot of planning ahead and all hands on deck, we’ve executed a successful move into our new office space and it is already starting to feel like ours. We liked the space “as is” when the lease was signed but we had some ideas of how we would …
Hey Bud – Can I Have a Rate Cut?! Some seem to look at the Fed as a drug dealer of sorts –whenever things get a little rough in the market or economy, they look to the Fed to cut interest rates to make everything feel better again. There is a danger …
The Story of Interest Rate Hopes and The Wall of WorryRead More
The Market Bounces Back! As quickly and notably as the market fell during the 4th quarter, it did the complete opposite this quarter. What does this mean, if anything? It certainly suggests market turns of momentum are often based more on perception …
Fourth Quarter Falls & Follies After an almost 10 year bull market, many were wondering when stocks would finally feel the effects of gravity and trend downward. Though history convincingly shows that the stock market rises over time, it also …
Kory Salagean, office manager, joined Columbia Asset Management in August 2019. Kory graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2018 majoring in International Affairs and Paralegal Studies. What is your favorite part of living in …
Emma Hutton, intern, is a fourth-year student in the University of Michigan School of Education. She was born and raised in Ann Arbor, the oldest sibling of her 19-year-old sister and 10-year-old brother. She has played soccer her entire life, …
Bitcoin Chitchat Late last year, around the holidays, as Bitcoin was hitting its peak price, I found myself at social gatherings being asked about the Bitcoin phenomenon. It felt similar to the dot-com craze of the late nineties. My typical response …
Brian Weisman (CFA®, CFP®, CPA, CMA) founded Columbia Asset Management in 1997. He was raised in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a degree in economics. He started tracking stocks right out of college, after owning …
This is Financial Planning? Northwestern Mutual Insurance Co. recently aired a commercial where a sweaty and tired dad is mowing his backyard lawn on a hot day while his surly teen daughter yells that she’s going to a friend’s house, presumably …
Sarah Fitzgibbon, financial analyst, joined Columbia Asset Management in 2006. She was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated in 2006 from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science. After working full-time at Columbia for …
Tax Cuts for Who and for What? Congress recently passed a record-breaking tax cut, mostly for businesses. Having studied economics, I’m unconvinced that cutting taxes, and thus increasing the deficit, makes sense--particularly when the economy has …
CEO’s Win the Lottery, But Do Shareholders and Employees?Read More
Christen Sando, registered investment advisor representative, joined Columbia Asset in 2010. She was born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, and attended Indiana University in Bloomington, where she graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology. In 2010, she …
Activity Below the Surface As the stock market continues its smooth glide-path higher to the surprise of many, there are indications of nervousness underneath. Similar to the late ‘90’s, reactions to fairly straight-forward quarterly earnings …
Good Times Are Rolling, but Character Should Count TooRead More
Charlie Cook, financial analyst, joined Columbia in December 2013. She grew up in West Michigan, but Ann Arbor became home during college at the University of Michigan. A few fun facts include that she is the youngest of three and the first in her …
Unusual Times…..for Now Passive (index) investing is the latest investment trend and it comes with some obvious advantages. One, passive investment fees are very low – an important issue to all investors. Secondly, with index investing you’ll never …
Hello and happy fall! We at Columbia want to give you the opportunity to get to know us a little better, so we’ve decided to start including an employee newsletter in with your report every quarter. Enjoy! Linda Meadows, analyst, and compliance …
Unusual Times…..for Now GDP (gross domestic product) growth is a key factor in the health of the U.S. economy, though it’s not something a lot of people pay close attention to. Even if you don’t know or much care about GDP, I think you’ll find this …
A Quarter Century and Counting This issue marks 25 years writing the Stockboy. As is often said, time goes fast. I’m not sure how much I’ve changed from an investor perspective over that period, but it’s more than the market has changed. The …
