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Drop It Dow Low: What is the Dow Jones?
You may (or may not) have heard that the Dow Jones has been dropping it like it’s hot lately, dipping 1,150 points just last week. World events and uncertain economic conditions can result in market volatility — when the stock market changes moods faster than your teenage sister. But, what exactly is the Dow Jones? And why has it been making major money moves recently?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index that includes 30 large, U.S. publicly-traded companies and acts as a thermometer, testing the overall health of the U.S. marketplace. Sounds a lot like the S&P 500 index, right?
Here are several key differences between the S&P 500 and the DJIA:
S&P 500 Dow Jones (DJIA) Founded in 1957 Founded in 1896 500 of the largest U.S.-based publicly-traded companies across all industries 30 of the largest U.S.-based publicly-traded companies across all industries (originated with just 12 companies solely in the industrial sector) Companies selected by S&P Committee (owned by McGraw Hill Financial) Companies selected by Dow Jones & Co. Averages Committee Companies selected based upon specific qualification criteria No defined criteria for how a company is selected — generally, must be a large leader in their industry Stocks within the index are weighted by market capitalization (market cap = # of outstanding shares x market price) Stocks within the index are price-weighted (the higher the stock’s market price, the more influence it will have on the index’s performance) Often considered the “single best indicator” of stock market performance, because of its broad and diverse collection of companies across all industries Most well-known stock market index. But, because if its exclusivity (only represents 30 of over 3,000 US public companies), it is more an indicator of blue-chip stocks than the market overall OK, now that we’ve got a grasp on what the Dow Jones Index is, let’s talk about why it’s been dropping faster than your bank account after a trip to Target.
The stock market can be affected by many factors, such as political changes, natural disasters, inflation, interest and exchange rates, and unexpected world events — just to name a few. Most recently, when the Dow Jones stumbled and fell by 4 percent in early October, it was likely due to sipping a cocktail of rising Treasury yields, the increased Federal Funds rate, and the China-U.S. trade war. Just like how you get a little wobbly after drinking one too many cocktails, the stock market also gets shaky (see: volatile) when too many uncertain events are mixed together at the same time. The stock market: it’s just like us.
But, not to fear. Similarly to how you will drink lots of water, take an Advil, and eat greasy food to bounce back after a night out, the stock market bounces back, too. Usually, the severity of the market fall will determine how long it will take to rebound. Small corrections can be overcome in just a few days, whereas a full-blown financial crisis may take years to recover from (think: the 2008 Great Recession).
To recap: the Dow Jones is the most well-known market index, comprised of only 30 companies across various industries, and is used to evaluate general trends in the stock market. Recently, the Dow Jones took a big tumble due to a woozy cocktail of world events and interest rate changes. But, don’t worry. Analysts remind us that the market often panics over everything and can sometimes be a bit overdramatic…#Relatable. So, for now, be prepared to ride the roller coaster of market volatility, because over the long-term, the market always trends upward. Ask Warren Buffett.
Congratulations! You now know what the Dow Jones is and why it’s been in the headlines lately. But, this article was not meant to be an in-depth analysis of the Dow Jones (because ain’t nobody got time for dat). If you’d like to dig in a little deeper to the topics covered above, feel free to click on any of the hyperlinks (including that one) to become a Dow Jones expert. You’re welcome.
Written By: Kaitlyn Duchien (@ktaylor1395)
Contact Us: facethefearfw@gmail.com
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Taking Stock: What is the S&P 500?
Standard and Poor: Is this the title of my autobiography? Or a stock market index? Honestly, both.
The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 is a stock market index consisting of 500 of the largest publicly-traded U.S. companies, measured by market capitalization. In other words, the S&P 500 is a exclusive group of 500 hot-shot companies that–as a whole–provide a glimpse at how the U.S. economy is doing overall.
In order to enter the exclusive S&P 500 club, companies need to meet some pretty intense qualifications. Just to name a few, the company must have:
- Headquarters in the United States
- A market cap of $5.3 billion or more (market cap = $ of shares x # of shares outstanding)
- Positive earnings in the last 4 most recent quarters
- Actively trading at a reasonable price, with the majority of its shares held by investors (instead of sitting on a shelf waiting to be sold)
But, even after meeting all of these requirements (and then some), a company is still not guaranteed to be included in the S&P 500 index. Think of the S&P 500 like Regina George and The Plastics — they’re rich, famous, and everybody wants to be in their group.
OK, so now that you know what the S&P 500 is, why does it matter to you? Well, think of it this way. When you go on Amazon to buy literally anything, the first thing you do is check the reviews on the product to make sure it’s a reasonable investment, right? You want to poll the masses to see what the general public has to say first, preventing you from spending your hard-earned money on a sketchy product that takes six months to be delivered and, when it arrives, might not even be “as pictured.” Overall, the more five-star reviews the product has, the better.
The S&P 500 is similar in the sense that it provides the public a simple gauge to understand how the stock market is performing overall, which will help us guide our investment decisions. This is also why the S&P 500 is a popular index to invest in through mutual funds and other sources, as it pools some of the largest companies across the U.S. into one collective group, rather than investing into each individual company separately. It’s the same reason why you would probably buy a TV on Amazon with 5,000 4.5-star reviews, rather than a TV with only one five-star review. Crowd-sourcing (on Amazon) and diversification (in your investment portfolio) makes all the difference, people.
Congratulations, you now know what the S&P 500 is and why it matters to you! But, this article was not meant to be an in-depth analysis of the S&P 500 (because ain’t nobody got time for dat). If you’d like to dig in a little deeper to the topics covered above, feel free to click on any of the hyperlinks (including that one) to become an S&P expert. You’re welcome.Written By: Kaitlyn Duchien (@ktaylor1395)
Contact Us: facethefearfw@gmail.com
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Stocks and Bonds, James Bonds
Stocks and Bonds, James Bonds
When you think of the word “stock,” what comes to mind? You may think of the New York Stock Exchange. Or, maybe (if you’re like me), you think about how much you need to stock up on Peppermint Ice Cream before it goes out of stock again after the holiday season (just me?…okay).
What about bonds? Do you picture a strapping Daniel Craig wearing a pristine black tuxedo, casually armed with a Walther P99 pistol, in hot pursuit of a criminal? Because I sure do.
No matter what comes to mind, we’re going to dive in to the definitions of stocks and bonds (the financial kind, sorry Daniel Craig), discuss what they are, and why they are important to us.
Let’s start with stocks. By definition, a stock is a type of financial security that allows the stockholder the right to ownership in a company. When someone purchases a company’s stock, they are buying a piece of that company, including the right to claim a portion of the company’s earnings (if they have any — aka if the company makes any money, which you sure hope they do if you invested in them).
Think of stock like a piece of pizza. Say you and three other friends are hanging out on a Saturday night and suddenly the midnight munchies strike.
All four of you decide to put in 2 bucks per person to buy a medium pizza for $8. When the pizza arrives, each person owns the right to ¼ of the pizza (or 2 pieces each), since you each contributed $2 for an $8 pizza with 8 slices total. #Math
Now, obviously a pizza can’t magically grow in size. But for this example, let’s say that it can. Imagine the pizza miraculously doubles in size. Now, you own the right to 4 slices of pizza! Well, since you’re on a diet and you really shouldn’t eat more than two slices of pizza, you decide to sell those two extra slices to a new friend who (conveniently) stopped by after you all ordered the pizza.
In theory, this is how buying a stock works. You own a portion of the company. When the company grows and earns profits, you are entitled to a percentage of those profits. You can then sell your portion of ownership in the company to someone else for more than you originally paid for it. By the way, that’s the ONLY way to make money with a stock — the company must grow so that you can sell your portion for more than you bought it for.
What happens if the company loses money and the stock price goes down? Well, that’s the risk of investing — which is especially risky if you invest in just ONE company or sector of the market. If the one company you invested in (Target, for example) or sector of the market (all retail stores), suddenly goes out of business (don’t panic…this is just a hypothetical example), then you would lose all of your money very quickly. Thankfully, investors have alternative options, such as mutual funds, that allows you to invest in many different companies across many different market sectors at one time — thus limiting your overall risk.
Okay, so now that we know what a stock is and how it can earn us money, let’s talk about bonds. Sorry, we’re still not talking about you, Daniel Craig.
Unlike stocks, bonds do not represent ownership in a corporation. Instead, bonds are a type of loan that an investor can make to a company or to the government, which in turn, promises to return a fixed interest rate to the investor over a specific period of time. Ideally, at the end of the bond’s lifetime, the investor will be repaid her entire initial payment, plus a fixed rate of interest. This is why bonds are often called “fixed-income securities” — because they provide a fixed amount of income (in the form of interest payments) to the investor. Shocking, I know.
Because bonds promise to pay back your initial investment plus a fixed interest rate, they are said to be less risky than stocks, which do not have a fixed rate of return and do not promise to return the money invested. However, bonds are not completely risk-free. The amount of risk you take with a bond depends largely on who is borrowing your money. In real world terms, you know that it’s a lot less risky to loan your mom a dollar than that one friend who is a notorious mooch and never pays anyone back. (I’m talking to you, Karen).
Applying that same concept to investing, a bond issued by a young, relatively unstable company is much more risky than a Treasury bond, which is issued by the federal government and is essentially risk-free. Why is a Treasury bond risk-free, you ask? Well, the federal government has this amazing authoritative power called TAXATION, which means it can always raise taxes in order to pay back the interest on its Treasury bonds. As much as a normal company would simply LOVE to force its customers to buy their products (or else!), unfortunately, they can’t do that. This means that corporate bonds may not always be able to keep their promises of paying the investor a fixed interest rate, thus creating risk. Usually, the more risky the bond, the higher the interest rate will be. On the flip side, Treasury bonds usually have the lowest interest rates on the market. Low risk, low returns. High risk, high returns. You get it.
Believe it or not, we’ve just barely scratched the surface of stocks and bonds. Tragic, I know. I don’t want to bore you to tears, so we’ll leave it at that for now.
But, before you go, one last question. Why do stocks and bonds matter? Even if you don’t plan on being the next Warren Buffett, you should feel confident in understanding stocks and bonds, and identifying where they fit into your investment portfolio (Note: If you’ve got a 401(k) or retirement savings plan, chances are you’re already investing in several stocks and bonds, whether you realize it or not. Congratulations!)
(QUICK DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a financial professional, so please consult one of those fantastic, educated, and far-more-qualified individuals BEFORE you dive into investing or making changes to your retirement plan). As a very general rule of thumb (not specific to every individual’s situation), the younger you are, the more your money may be invested in stocks and less in bonds. As you age and grow closer to retirement, the percentage of your money invested may gradually shift from stock-heavy to bond-heavy. The reason for this is, when you’re young, you have the advantage of time on your side to ride the up-and-down roller coaster of the stock market. Even when there is a market correction and you lose a portion of your portfolio, you still have decades before retirement to earn that money back. However, the closer you get to retirement, the less time your portfolio has to bounce back after a market correction. Thus, safer investment options like bonds will help prevent you from losing your entire life savings to a market drop right before you were planning on retiring and moving to Hawaii. AloNAH, you don’t want that to happen.
Alright, now you know what stocks and bonds are and why they matter! Woot woot! Next step, consult with your financial professional to collaborate on an investing plan that is specifically designed to meet your lifestyle goals.
And, don’t forget to check back here for new, exciting content to be released very soon!
Written By: Kaitlyn Duchien (@ktaylor1395)
Contact Us: facethefearfw@gmail.com
