How to talk to your children about money

By Philip van Doorn

Also: Successful approaches to beating the S&P 500's performance, EV news and some estate-planning conundrums

Beth Pinsker is a certified financial planner, so she probably has an easier time discussing financial matters with her family than you do. According to a recent survey by U.S. Bank, only 59% of people in Generation X - generally defined as those born from the mid-1960s through 1980 - are comfortable discussing family finances with their children.

The older you are, the more important it probably is for your children to understand your financial situation. But how can you get the conversation started? Beth looked into why people shy away from financial discussions and offered specific advice on how to talk to your children about your finances.

More from the Fix my Portfolio column: I have $2.5 million and fear that I'll never be able to retire. Am I being irrational?

How a fund manager picks companies for quality and beats the market

Michael Brush interviewed Tom Hancock, who comanages the GMO Quality Fund GQETX, which has a record of consistently outperforming the S&P 500 SPX. Here are four factors Hancock uses to select quality companies for investment.

More: The S&P 500 is too tech-heavy. This alternative ETF keeps beating it.

EV news

Here is a roundup of this week's news within the electric-vehicle space:

-- Rivian's stock sinks as parts supply shortage leads to big deliveries miss

-- Tesla's deliveries didn't live up to the hype. What investors should watch next.

-- Ford's stock falls as its EV sales rise, but by less than rival GM's

-- Nio's stock keeps surging after EV maker reports new quarterly deliveries record

-- Nio's stock soars again after investment deal that could grow to $4.8 billion

Top-down looks at the stock market

Over the past 10 years, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY has had an average return of 13.2%, with dividends reinvested. But over the previous 10-year period, this exchange-traded fund - the first to track the S&P 500 - had an average annual return of 7.8%.

Mark Hulbert described the "Joseph Effect" and why it might lead to much lower returns for stock-market investors over the next decade.

More on the stock market:

-- Turns out, the stock market can succeed without the Magnificent Seven

-- Chinese stocks could be headed for a 'mega-rally' with gains of up to 100%, veteran analyst says

ETF Wrap: Aerospace and defense ETFs beat S&P 500 as Middle East fears intensify

Maybe the bond market has it all wrong

Strong demand for bonds pushes longer-term interest rates down. The Federal Open Market Committee began to lower short-term rates last week, cutting the federal-funds rate by half a point to a target range of 4.75% to 5%. The yield curve remains inverted, with 10-year U.S. Treasury notes BX:TMUBMUSD10Y yielding 3.97% Friday afternoon, while 3-month Treasury bills BX:TMUBMUSD03M yielded 4.63%.

The inverted yield curve indicates that bond-market investors expect the Fed to continue cutting short-term rates, possibly in response to an economic slowdown. The bond investors want to lock in decent yields.

But even before stronger-than-expected employment figures were released on Friday, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink called the bond market's interest-rate bet "crazy."

More on interest rates and banks:

-- JPMorgan, Wells Fargo to kick off bank earnings parade as Wall Street weighs lower interest rates

-- Schwab leads list of banks expected to profit most in 2025 from Fed's rate cuts

-- Buffett's trades imply you shouldn't buy Bank of America stock above this price

A brutal week for Humana

According to Humana's (HUM) most recent annual report, 84% of its revenue from health-insurance premiums and services "were derived from contracts with the federal government" during 2023. That focus underscores the importance of government ratings for Medicare Advantage plans, which Humana warned about on Tuesday.

Humana's stock fell 24% for one week through Thursday, after Bank of America downgraded the stock to a sell rating.

More to the story: Humana's stock ends a three-day selloff, but investors watching its bonds may have had a heads-up

Related: Medicare's $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket drug expenses will actually cost most members more money

You might already be participating in this growing, and thinly regulated, market

Steve Gelsi described the dramatic rise of the private-credit market and its possible risks for millions of people who may not realize they are participants.

Are you struggling with an estate plan?

If you are trying to set out the stipulations of your will or creating a family trust, there is no end to the potential complications. Quentin Fottrell - the Moneyist - keeps being presented with new estate quandaries by MarketWatch readers. Here are some examples:

-- 'This money is not bringing me a lot of happiness': My husband and I have $7 million, but our kids are trouble. Should we cut them off?

-- 'I feel like I'm missing something': I'm 68, divorced with two children. I've $750,000 and rent my home. Do I need a trust?

-- 'Their house was purchased with my family money': My late father left a life estate to his second wife. She's only 10 years older than me. How can I undo this?

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-Philip van Doorn

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10-04-24 1402ET

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