How to get financial advice for free

By Philip van Doorn

Also, estate planning, a successful stock-market timing strategy and tips about housing and taxes

You may be aware that a standard fee for a financial adviser at a brokerage firm is 1% of assets under management. The fee might be lower, depending on the size of the account, the extent of the services offered and even the type of assets being invested in.

But 1% is significant when you consider that the S&P 500's SPX average annual return over the past 30 years has been 10.6%. Fees paid for active management can really add up, and it is quite possible that a long-term growth investor will underperform the index. Some index funds charge very low fees because they are passively managed. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which is the largest exchange-traded fund and tracks the S&P 500 by holding all of its stocks with pretty much the same weightings as the index, charges an annual fee of 0.0945%.

April is Financial Literacy Month and MarketWatch has a better name for it: Financial Fitness Month. Continuing this special series of Articles, Beth Pinsker explains how anyone can get financial advice for free.

More on financial fitness:

What is a good credit score - and how can you improve yours?With inflation running hot, Series I bonds are still a smart move for yield and tax advantagesI earn $120,000 a year and have $165,000 in savings. How do I invest in this high-interest-rate environment?Progress, not perfection: Gen Z has made some extraordinary financial moves but still needs help

Earnings season is here - big banks begin and others report

Early on Friday, three of the largest U.S. banks announced their first-quarter results. MarketWatch's live earnings coverage included results for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), along with additional commentary and analysis.

More coverage of corporate results:

Delta's results are further proof that the carrier is a winner, say analystsCarMax's stock drops 9% after it misses analyst estimates for net income and revenueBeer sales helped Constellation Brands, but wine and spirits revenues stayed weakCostco boosts its dividend by 14% while touting sharp rise in e-commerce sales

What might help Tesla's stock?

So far this year, the S&P 500 has returned 9.4%, and two-thirds of its component stocks are up for the year with dividends reinvested. But Tesla Inc. (TSLA) has been one of the worst performers, with shares taking a 29.7% dive through Thursday.

What might be the next catalyst for Tesla's stock? CEO Elon Musk seems to believe that a focus on self-driving taxis will be enough to excite investors. Therese Poletti looks into the possibilities for Tesla's planned robotaxi rollout in August.

More coverage of Tesla and the EV space:

Musk has two weeks to turn the ship around, says Tesla bull who is losing faithTesla's 'self-inflicted' woes make this analyst feel more cautious about the stockTesla's stock removed from Baird's bearish list with analysts bullish on robotaxis and energyWhy Volkswagen's new bus - the ID Buzz - is a wowRivian's stock clocks a record low as electric-truck price competition heats upNikola's proposal for reverse split sends its stock even further below $1

Estate planning and aftermath - and more from the Moneyist

Quentin Fottrell - the Moneyist - often wades into nasty family squabbles over inherited money and property. But this week he answered question from a family that has been getting along fine. Will they need a lawyer to help them settle an estate?

More from Quentin Fottrell:

'My half-siblings are trying to slither their way in to get a handout': How do I make sure my parents only leave their home to me?I invested half of my son's inheritance with a 13.5% return. A major broker underperformed the S&P 500 with the rest. Should I take over all his assets?'She doesn't like to rock the boat': My mother will spend millions taking care of my aging stepfather. What can I do?

Even if you have already filed your tax return, these tax tips can help

In addition to the video above about reducing your taxable income, Andrew Keshner talked about tax strategies with Jeremy Owens as part of the On Watch podcast series.

More: Got a bigger tax refund this year? It might seem like a 'happy surprise' - but don't get too excited.

Check out On Watch by MarketWatch, a weekly podcast about the financial news we're all watching - and how that's affecting the economy and your wallet. MarketWatch's Jeremy Owens trains his eye on what's driving markets and offers insights that will help you make more informed money decisions. Subscribe on Spotify and Apple.

Market warnings

Warnings about the stock market typically center on fear that interest rates will rise, or that the Federal Reserve will not lower them. They might also be based on valuation: The S&P 500 trades at a weighted forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20.6, compared with a five-year average of 19.5 and a 10-year average of 18.1, according to FactSet. But Michael Brush outlines three other reasons stocks may be headed lower and what investors can do to weather a storm.

More about the health of the stock market:

The S&P 500's rally is approaching a make-or-break momentThese in-the-know investors are more bearish than they have been since 2014Hotter inflation means the stock-market rally faces a critical test as earnings season beginsWhy haven't rising bond yields hammered stocks? Here's what analysts say.

Housing and how to pay for it

Aarthi Swaminathan is MarketWatch's housing reporter. In the video above, she explains the differences between fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans and provides tips on how to decide between them. The advice may not apply to you if you are a longtime homeowner, but it may be helpful to someone new to the housing market.

More housing coverage this week included an interview with Rocket Mortgage CEO Varun Krishna and an unusual loan modification.

If you insist on timing the stock market...

An adage for long-term investors is that time in the market beats market timing. The idea is that even if you are smart enough to move your money to the sidelines before a stock-market crash, you have a good chance of coming back into the market well after a recovery has started. These timing actions can lead to lower returns over the years. A related phenomenon for people making regular contributions to tax-deferred retirement plans (especially those for which employers match a portion of the contributions) is that during down periods for the market, you pay lower prices. So the down cycles can actually enhance returns over the decades.

But if you still wish to time the stock market, Mark Hulbert explained a timing approach that has been around for decades and has performed well.

More from Hulbert: Here's why Trump's DJT stock and others like it are lagging the market

Silver and gold

This chart shows percentage increases for continuous front-month contracts for Silver (SI00) and Gold (GC00) on the New York Mercantile Exchange this year through 10 a.m. ET.

Myra P. Saefong explained how the current market dynamic has been working, since previous rallies for silver and especially gold were likely to coincide with declining interest rates.

More: Gold barrels past $2,400 to a new high. There's not much standing in its way, say analysts.

Retirement planning

This week in the Help Me Retire column, Alessandra Malito helps a reader who faces a complicated set of rules, with an inherited IRA and required minimum distributions, while continuing to work and contribute to a retirement plan.

More help with retirement planning:

I'm doing backdoor Roth conversions, but I can only afford $200 per month. What are the pros and cons?My late wife left me a $425,000 IRA. As it's mostly real estate, do I need to sell the property to withdraw money? And can I pass it on to my kids?An investment club helped this woman retire at 60 - even after her employer cut her pension

Active management to broaden exposure away from the S&P 500

As mentioned above, index funds have been excellent performers, in part because of low expenses as they mirror the performance benchmarks such as the S&P 500.

But you might want to broaden your horizons beyond large-cap stocks - or even beyond the U.S. market. Here are three articles in which active fund managers describe their strategies:

This fund has outperformed with stocks that are ripe targets for other companiesThis quality approach to a cheap part of the stock market garners a five-star ratingThis weight-loss ETF has performed well in its first five months. How does it compare with cheaper alternatives?

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-Philip van Doorn

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04-13-24 0521ET

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