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Understanding Payment Apps

Posted By Lineweaver Financial Group
September 23, 2021 Category: Blog, Technology, Economy, Commentary, Finance, Portfolio

  With the advent of the pandemic over the last year and a half, more and more people are switching to digital payment apps to help them with banking, payments, and to move money between accounts. These have many advantages, especially in our increasingly touchless world. But which of these are the best to use, and how secure are they?   According to Forester Data, 61% of adults who use the internet transferred money digitally to a friend or family member in 2020, compared to 51% the year before. There are no shortage of these apps available, with offerings from tech companies like Google and Apple, companies that partner with banks like Zelle, and the largest and perhaps most popular companies, Venmo and PayPal.   With so many available, it may be hard to choose one to use and it may be best to use different apps for different situations.   For example, PayPal may be best for large purchases – you can transfer or make a purchase of up to $60,000 in a single transaction. It also provides purchase protection.   For instant transfers, Zelle may be offered alongside your bank’s mobile app. Transfers are instant, but irreversible and there’s no payment protection. It is, however, the only app that doesn’t charge a fee for an instant transfer of funds.   Different apps may make sense for different scenarios, but what about privacy and security? Last year, Venmo found itself in hot water when reporters were abl

The Power of Dividends

Posted By Lineweaver Financial Group
September 09, 2021 Category: Blog, Economy, Commentary, Dividends, Portfolio

  If we look at the data over the past 90 years, dividends were responsible for over 40% of the total return of the S&P 500 index, according to a 2021 publication by Hartford Funds. And over the last 50 years, dividend paying stocks have produced average annual returns largely in line with the S&P 500 Index, but with a lower degree of volatility.   While dividend stocks may not receive the same popularity as growth stocks in the current environment, dividend paying stocks can meaningfully contribute to total return over time, with potentially lower price fluctuations. This is especially important in the continuing low interest rate that we’ve seen persist over the last couple of years.   In the past, investors focused on producing current income, such as retirees or individuals nearing retirement, have been able to do that through bond allocations, when yields were much higher. However, in today’s low interest rate environment, it’s become increasingly difficult to achieve that investment objective though fixed income alone.   There are many investment vehicles that can help you combat low interest rates. With the 10-year Treasury bond paying just over 1% and similar bonds in Europe and Japan paying 0% or slightly negative interest rates, but in our view, there are a number of high-quality dividend paying stocks out there that pay a 2%, 3%, or even 4% dividend yield.   Income from bonds, such as Treasury or corpora