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Marathon Mission®

We are a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm. Fee-only means that we charge a fee for our investment advice. We are not salespeople and do not sell any products to our clients. We do not collect commissions in any shape or form. Investment management and financial planning is offered solely by Michael Ryan, a Certified Financial Planner professional. We work with our clients on a fiduciary basis, which means we have a legal responsibility to act in our client’s best interest in everything we do. We are held to a higher standard. A legal standard. We feel this is a moral obligation that we willingly accept. As an RIA, we are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Section 206, we are considered fiduciaries. Marathon Mission® always makes decisions and recommendations from the viewpoint of what we would do, considering the knowledge we have, if we were the client. To learn more about the CFP fiduciary standard click here. For more information about the SEC and their fiduciary rule click here.

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Our Services

Portfolio Management

Ongoing portfolio management based on the individual goals, objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance of each client...

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Pension Consulting Services

Consulting services to pension or other employee benefit plans (including but not limited to 401(k) plans)...

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Financial Planning

Investment, retirement, college, and estate planning, tax concerns, life insurance, employee benefit planning and more...

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Latest Posts

28 Jun

Recessions, Inflation and the Market

Recessions are generically defined as two negative quarters of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a row. Q1 GDP came in negative. However, this substantially overstates the slowdown in economic growth. It was dragged negative mainly from the imbalance between our imports and exports (imports reduce GDP and exports increase GDP). If we just look at consumption and fixed investment, we see growth that is actually faster than the prior two quarters. The economy was continuing to overheat, despite the negative GDP figure for Q1. This is why recessions are “generically” defined as two negative quarters of GDP in a row.

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01 Feb

Interest Rate Hikes & Stock Performance

During the pandemic the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to nearly zero in an attempt to spur economic activity. This endeavor was clearly very successful considering GDP for 2021 ran at about triple the rate of our historical average. This has been good news for equity investors because earnings growth and profit margins exploded to the upside.

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09 Feb

Relationship Between Blockchain, Tether and Bitcoin

Blockchain technology is a protocol like http for the internet and webpages. It controls how the network operates but the code itself is not owned by anyone. This technology is game changing because it is essentially a giant ledger of information that cannot be altered. It can be used to track orders, payments, accounts, production, assets and other things. As a result, something of value can now be sent electronically without a third party institution. Currently, when we make a purchase or move money or assets from one person to another, we use a financial institution. Blockchain potentially removes the need for the financial institution.

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04 Feb

Turn Student Debt Into Zero Interest Loan

In March 2020 the CARES Act suspended interest and monthly payments to the approximately 42 million student loan borrowers in the country. According to Mark Kantrowitz, a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, less than 11% of borrowers have continued to make payments during the pandemic. As of January 27, 2021, President Biden extended this moratorium through at least September 30, 2021.

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27 Jan

Bubble in Certain Stocks Not the Stock Market

A recent phenomenon in the stock market is causing certain stocks to disconnect with fundamentals and rocket higher. Aggressive investors and gamblers have found a way to game the market using social media. Many are small inexperienced investors trading on the RobinHood platform. Using the popular website, Reddit, traders are identifying companies with poor fundamentals and high short interest. Once they select their target, they begin buying call options aggressively. Options are derivatives of the underlying stock and provide leverage.

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23 Dec

Defined Outcome ETFs

Defined outcome ETFs are equity investments that offer some downside protection in exchange for a cap on the upside over the course of a year. They are usually tied to the performance of the S&P 500 or another index in the US and abroad. Some offer downside protection or buffer of 9% to 15%. Others are created in such a way that the first 5% decline is on the investor but there is protection on the next 30% decline. The trade-off is a cap on the potential upside. In other words, you receive downside protection in exchange for limited upside. These types of investments could look very attractive as a bond replacement because of the current low yield environment. 

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23 Dec

On Bonds

Bonds have a math problem. It is unlikely that the next 40 years of returns will look anything like the last 40 years. In 1981, the yield on the 10-year treasury was north of 15%. As of December 15, 2020, the yield on the 10-year treasury is .92%. 

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04 Aug

Democrats or Republicans - What’s Best for the Market?

CFRA Research did a study from 1944 to now that tracked the S&P 500 returns under Democratic and Republican leadership scenarios. They looked at periods when all of government was unified, Congress was unified, and Congress was split. The results were enlightening. 

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27 Jul

Predicting Presidential Election Results

It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you sit on. Investors tend to become nervous during election years. Throw in a pandemic, a bear market and subsequent huge rally, and this year is no exception. We have a divided nation, extreme left and right views, and protests around the world. Depending on the news source viewers follow, the world is either falling apart or looking optimistic. Fortunately, the stock market has been a remarkable predictor of presidential election results. 

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09 May

Typical Bear Market Recovery

The S&P 500 dropped 34% in March from 3394 to 2305, a decline of 1089 points. As of this writing, we have recovered about half of that loss to 2885. It is not uncommon to have sharp rallies follow sharp declines in a bear market. The typical initial rally is up to about two thirds of the loss. 

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02 Apr

COVID-19 and Historical Drops

As of the close on 3/23/2020, the S&P 500 closed at 2237, which was down 34% from its highs about a month and a half ago, making this the fastest drop in history. The closest parallel that I could find as a reference is the crash of 1987 where the market dropped about 34% over 4 months. It then took 21 months for it to make a new high. This year’s drop will forever be compared to that because of its speed and depth. Buying after that crash turned out to be one of the best buying opportunities in history. 

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01 Apr

Forgivable Federal Loans for Small Business

Starting April 3rd, more than $350 billion in forgivable Federal loans will be available for small businesses, which is designed to cover about 50% of the private workforce. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress last week. There are several pieces to the legislation. 

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02 Mar

Stock Market Corrections

The stock market does not go up in a straight line, corrections happen all the time but the eventual outcome is generally the same. The reason or catalyst changes but in most cases the fear de jour does not play out in the worst-case scenario and the market overreacts to the downside and subsequently recovers. The media adds fuel to the fire by seizing the moment, touting headlines like “markets in turmoil” or some other catastrophic phrase to make the most of ratings. This often creates fear and causes investors to make rash decisions regarding their investments because the media will have a parade of permabear guests who will tell you the world is ending. But it isn’t. 

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26 Jun

2019 Changes in the STAR Property Tax Credit

If you own a primary residence in New York State and you make less than $500,000 per year, you need to be aware of the 2019 changes in the STAR property tax credit. If you make more than $500,000, you do not qualify for STAR and therefore do not need to take any action. For everyone else, you may or may not need to do something. As with everything government, this is more complicated than it needs to be.

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05 Mar

2018 Tax cuts and Withholdings

If you are employed, you probably noticed that your net paycheck went up recently due to changes in the IRS tax withholdings tables. This is the result of the 2018 tax cuts that went into effect in January. A lot has changed under the new rules. 

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24 Jul

Ballmer’s Brilliant Business Idea

What if we viewed the US federal government budget the same way we view and manage our own budgets? Where are revenues coming from, and where does the money go? We have plenty of partisan politicians and television pundits telling us whom to blame for this and that, but what about the big picture?

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10 Jul

How much are you paying for the funds in your retirement plan?

Is your 401(k)/403(b) plan with an insurance company? It may be time to take a look at what you are actually paying. This is not as easy as it sounds, because logic would have you think if you own an index fund such as Vanguard inside your plan, you have chosen a low cost option. This is not always the case.

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