Are you concerned by signs of social disintegration of the past month? Is there injustice, inequity, racism, hatred and other evidence of sin in our world? Absolutely. Does it help anyone of any group to allow, much less encourage willful rioting and looting? Absolutely not. Neither does it help for [...]
The two conditions are usually unrelated. Mr. Market is concerned most with the question of whether, in 6 to 12 months in the future, economic conditions will be better or worse. More specifically, an investor continuously makes a judgment about the probable progress of individual companies, industries, and the economy, [...]
Today we will explore a different vehicle for income, one which might not be familiar to you. First, some context. When you speak of a mutual fund, it is usually what is known as an Open End fund. It is open in the sense that new investors can buy shares [...]
It took me 3 ½ years of law practice (40 years ago) to conclude that was not the best way for me to help people. But I am still thankful I spent the time and money to get my Doctorate of Jurisprudence. It is a great background for financial advisory [...]
The primary rule of financial markets’ behavior is that Mr. Market will do whatever it takes to confound the greatest number of investors, market experts, et al. No one else could possibly be so fickle and unpredictable. I can safely say that almost no one expected the current bullish run [...]
A strong trend change in investing has developed over the past few years. Particularly after 2008, many folks have given up on private investing for growing their long-term wealth. This latest correction of both debt and equity markets obviously will not help. In the Midwest, we do not even like [...]
This morning I received a call from a wise octogenarian client. Is it time to buy? he asked. What was he thinking? He described his experience of 1987. In October that year, the S&P 500 index dropped by 30 percent, over 20 percent on that one Monday, October 19. (Sounds [...]
In all areas of life, there are principles to be learned and applied. Finance is no exception. Many bedrock fundamentals found in the Bible have proven their worth over the past two thousand years or more. One is diversification. Spelled out in Ecclesiastes 11, verse 2, Solomon counsels, Divide your [...]
Last week I opined concerning the dangers of the supposedly conservative strategy du jour, that of having only guaranteed, fixed income investments such as bonds, CD’s, or fixed annuities. Today we will look back at relative performance of different assets during the Teens decade to see if, even during the [...]
Perhaps there have always been preachers of one solitary investment asset class. I remember Howard Ruff with his Ruff Times touting gold, silver and survival tips. He was correct about inflation in the later 1970s. (According to Dr. Mark Skousen, millions of dollars went through his hands in the 1970s [...]
