What Element Puts the Spark in Growth?
The good news for Mr. Market is the lack of any earthshaking mandate coming from the election last week. He loves legislative inertia or gridlock, the popular term. Why? If it is more difficult to sweep through major policy changes, then it is easier to determine the natural financial winners [...]
America is bigger than any party or any candidate
In an already stressful year, this election season has proved to be more than many can bear. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) 68% of all adults consider the 2020 Presidential election to be a significant stressor in their life. As of now we still don’t [...]
Our fiscal policy in 2021 matters.
When giving investment advice the last thing I want to talk about is politics. But sadly, these two areas have become so intertwined in the past decade it’s hard to avoid, especially in an election year. I would dare say that actions by politicians now play a larger role in [...]
Shelter from the storm
On November 4, I predict many will be surprised and distraught, whoever wins. Many will not like the outcomes. I will be surprised if we do not know the winner on that day, but investors of either stripe may sell. If there are legal challenges, confusion will reign and investors [...]
Sooner or later, we face a fiscal reckoning
Three weeks before the election, I am in a state of inner turmoil and foreboding. Me, the optimist for whom the glass is always mostly full. (But I have heard that an optimist is a person who just does not understand the situation!) If ever I have bobbed in a [...]
Consider selling your house on your own
Selling a house right now is as about as easy as it will ever be. As one of our clients who is selling off a few of their long-held rentals recently said, “you could prop a tent and get a good selling price right now.” If you are considering putting [...]
In baseball and in the market, there are no sure things.
One of my favorite movies of all time is Moneyball. In the film Brad Pitt portrays legendary general manager Billy Beane who is credited with changing the paradigm of how baseball players are analyzed and assessed for value. In a classic scene, he gets into an argument with his lead [...]
Thanks to the Fed, savers are taking it on the chin.
As a financial advisor, you can count on human nature to indicate where you are in the investing cycle. As the summer progressed and the stock indexes marched steadily higher, people began asking why we had not revved up the engines to full speed. We read about new young investors [...]
Are we in another housing bubble?
It’s amazing how quickly things can change. A little more than 5 years ago my wife and I were struggling to sell our home in a housing market that was in dire straits. At one point during the year long process, more than half of the homes in our cul-de-sac [...]
The current state of investments
What in the world is going on out there, and what should I do with my money? This topic is always on my mind, but I imagine lately it’s been heavy on yours too. The world looks upside down, and the stock market is no exception. Many can’t believe it’s [...]