On this Black Friday (known in earlier times as the "day after Thanksgiving"), here is SMI's weekly Roundup of recent articles on investing, personal finance, and stewardship.
We hope you find them to be interesting and helpful.
The downsides of diversification (Nick Maggiulli, Of Dollars And Data). "Diversification is ultimately an ongoing battle against relative underperformance."
When will we see new highs again in the stock market? (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense). As measured by the S&P 500, it's been almost two years since the market hit a new high.
The Leading Economic Index declined for the 19th month in a row (Charlie Bilello via X). Normally, this would portend a recession.
Wall Street's ESG craze is fading (Wall Street Journal). "We found that the demand for ESG investing...was more limited than we anticipated."
Year-end QCD mistakes to avoid (Ed Slott, InvestmentNews). If you're not careful about following the rules, you could forfeit the tax benefits of a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA.
IRS delays tax reporting rule change for business payments on apps such as Venmo and PayPal (CNBC). In a news release, the IRS said it was concerned about "taxpayer confusion" over the reporting requirement.
10 things you should know about long-term-care insurance (Kiplinger). Among them: Long-term-care insurance is not a cheap product.
Virtual credit cards: What are they and should you use them? (Wall Street Journal). "Trying to keep the bad guys from stealing your credit-card number? Consider using a virtual card for online or phone purchases."
Ranked: The biggest retailers in the U.S. by revenue (Visual Capitalist). In case you were wondering about this.
Parenting and philanthropy: Growing the next generation of givers (PDF) (A research report from Fidelity Charitable). "The giving activity of parents directly translates into greater participation in giving activities among their children."
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