After stressing the system with the longest yield curve inversion in US history, the central planners at the Fed are now attempting to bring the largest pile of debt in world history in for a “soft landing” and the stakes for markets have likely never been higher.

While the fire brigade managed to keep the fallout contained, market action in August revealed the substantial risk hiding in opaque global market linkages that are highly sensitive to changes in monetary policy.

Investors de-risked portfolios in July by closing the popular long Nasdaq / short Russell 200 “pair trade” , leaving the S&P 500 with a gain on the month as sector rotation kept a lid on the VIX and hedge expense in TCM portfolios at a minimum.

While VIX is low and markets are trending higher, hedge expense is the main risk to portfolios and in these periods, a dogmatic hedging approach often costs investors more than the market declines they seek to avoid.

Determining when to take Social Security benefits is one of the most consequential decisions a soon-to-be retiree must make. With the help of state of the art software, TCM Planning can help simplify the process.