Types of Stock Market Analysis and Retirement Wellness

The Retirement Wellness article references Fidelity Investments retiree health care cost projection.  “In 2019, Fidelity projected that the average 65-year-old couple would spend around $285,000 on health care during retirement, including about $11,000 in the first year.  Both projections took Medicare benefits into account.”  So be mindful as you plan your retirement income. 

Types of Stock Market Analysis
Three different approaches.

Provided by Rita Wilczek

The majority of stock market analysis can be lumped into three broad groups: fundamental, technical, and sentimental. Here’s a closer look at each.

Fundamental Analysis. The goal of fundamental analysis is to determine whether a company’s future value is accurately reflected in its current stock price.

Fundamental analysis attempts to estimate the value of a stock based on a variety of factors, such as the current finances of the company and the prevailing economic environment. Fundamental analysis also may include speaking with a company’s management team and assessing how the company’s products are received in the marketplace.

When a fundamental review is complete, the analyst may decide the stock is an attractive opportunity because the market has underestimated its prospects. The analyst also may determine the stock to be a “hold,” or a “sell,” if the value is fully reflected in the price.

Technical Analysis. Technical analysts evaluate recent trading movements and trends to attempt to determine what’s next for a company’s stock price. Generally, technical analysts pay less attention to the fundamentals underlying the stock price.

Technical analysts rely on stock charts to make their assessment of a company’s stock price. For example, technicians may look for a support level and resistance level when assessing a stock’s next move. A support level is a price level at which the stock might find support, and below which, it may not fall. In contrast, a resistance level is a price at which the stock might find pressure, and above which, it may not rise.

Sentimental Analysis. Sentimental analysis attempts to measure the market in terms of the attitudes of investors. Sentimental analysis starts from the assumption that the majority of investors are wrong. In other words, that the stock market has the potential to disappoint when “masses of investors” believe prices are headed in a particular direction.¹

Sentiment analysts are often referred to as contrarians who look to invest against the majority view of the market. For example, if the majority of professional market watchers expect a stock price to trend higher, sentiment analysts may look for prices to disappoint the majority and trend lower.

Which approach is best? There is no clear answer to that question. But it’s important to remember three things: Past performance does not guarantee future results, actual results will vary, and the best approach may be to create a portfolio based on your time horizon, risk tolerance, and goals.

Keep in mind that the return and principal value of stock prices will fluctuate as market conditions change. And shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.
Citations.
1 - investopedia.com/terms/m/marketsentiment.asp [4/18/19]

Retirement Wellness
Staying healthy could save you some money.

Provided by Rita Wilczek

How healthy a retirement do you think you will have? If you can stay active as a senior and curb or avoid certain habits, you could potentially reduce one type of retirement expense.

Each year, Fidelity Investments presents an analysis of retiree health care costs. In 2019, Fidelity projected that the average 65-year-old couple would spend around $285,000 on health care during retirement, including about $11,000 in the first year. Both projections took Medicare benefits into account.^1,2

Could healthy behaviors help you save retirement dollars? Maybe. From another point of view, ceasing unhealthy habits certainly would. For example, the average pack of cigarettes now costs $6.28, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That adds up to $2,292 annually. A decade of pack-a-day smoking therefore projects to $22,920 in expenses (and that does not even consider inflation or the possibility of new state or local cigarette taxes). If you could invest $2,292 a year for 20 years and realize a 7% annual return on that money, your sustained investment would grow to more than $100,000.

Think about joining a senior wellness program. Some communities offer classes developed through the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging. (NCOA is a nonprofit senior advocacy organization founded in the 1950s.) These physical activity programs are evidence based; the exercise curriculum has been shown to provide discernible health benefits to their participants. Often, they are low cost or free and low impact as well.³

Be sure to use your Medicare benefits. Medicare entitles you to an annual free wellness visit with a primary care physician. In this visit, you can have your blood pressure, weight, and overall health checked, and the doctor can also run a check for the possibility of dementia. You can also get free screening for diabetes, certain kinds of cancers, hepatitis B and C, and heart disease under Medicare if your physician classifies you as “at risk” for these conditions. Medicare may even pick up the tab for smoking cessation counseling and obesity counseling for certain people.⁴

If you stay fairly healthy well into your retirement, there could be a nice financial side effect: an exemption, for the present, from expenses that some of your peers could be dealing with.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.
Citations.
1 - cnbc.com/2019/04/02/health-care-costs-for-retirees-climb-to-285000.html [4/2/19]
2 - fidelity.com/mymoneylifestyle/healthcare/hc-ret.html [9/4/19]
3 - ncoa.org/center-for-healthy-aging/basics-of-evidence-based-programs/physical-activity-programs-for-older-adults [9/10/19]
4 - tinyurl.com/y3fmq9bf [8/24/19]