For investors, proper perspective is about the most important quality one can possess. I am referring to the practice of viewing where we are in terms of historical benchmarks and the statistical probabilities from long history Our shared human condition is that we are creatures of the here and now. [...]
A few weeks ago we noted the 10-year anniversary of the stock market low of March 9, 2009. As one might expect, others have considered this too from various perspectives. The most insightful I have seen yet is How the Financial Crisis Has Affected Individual Investors 10 Years Later by [...]
Ten seemingly short years ago, the low-water point for the U.S. stock market occurred on March 9 at 666.79. There are numbers of theories about why the decline stopped on a dime and reversed. The best and most logical one is also the simplest explanation. Alas, the following was never [...]
Last week, Luke Davis and I attended the Kingdom Advisors Conference for attorneys, accountants and financial professionals. Each year great speakers share insights about dealing with our finances in ways to keep money in its proper place. It is a tool to serve much more important aspects of our lives. [...]
In the past few years, the S&P 500 Index has had some good results when many investors’ portfolios have experienced lackluster to poor results. Lend me a few minutes and I will attempt to explain this and hopefully provide some light on the subject. A large part of this phenomenon [...]
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards, observed Soren Kirkegaard, 19th Century Danish philosopher. Therefore, we must examine at least briefly what occurred during 2018 in the worldwide financial markets. As noted in prior columns, probabilities were high that it would produce a stock market [...]
I may not have harped on the subject lately or you might have become a more recent reader of this column, but today—short and sweet—I am explaining why investors should be surprisingly hopeful and positive about the stock market in the next 12 -14 months. Long time readers can recite [...]
Wow, what a year this has been! I traditionally fill this space at Thanksgiving time with the same sort of thoughts you will see today. I will not dwell on the fact that it seems the last celebration was about six months ago, but that is just my relative age [...]
If you are a serious investor, your biggest question has been or will be, “When will this present bull market come to its end? Over the decades, I have talked to hundreds of people who have had experiences and results from one end of the spectrum to the other. Most [...]
What does it mean to you if someone suggests you keep it simple? I have learned and am still learning the importance of this principle for both life itself and for our finances. Just yesterday, we were discussing financial alternatives with a client. It became quickly obvious that if we [...]
