“Stay safe” has become a popular saying in The Age of COVID-19. Things are changing so fast, though, it’s been hard to keep up with all the new rules regarding what qualifies as “safe.” Example: welcome to Tampa, Tom Brady. While governments are busy rewriting public safety rules, ETF investors are also rethinking where to find “safety” in the market...
“Beware the Ides of March,” a soothsayer told Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s famous play of the same name. Whether you believe in superstitions or not, March of 2020 will go down as a historic month on Wall Street. After peaking on February 19th, the S&P 500 fell 34% in just 23 trading days, marking the fastest bear market ever. Stocks...
Europeans once believed swans were only white. Then they discovered black swans in Australia. As investors, we continually face events that test our belief systems. Nicholas Nassim Taleb wrote an excellent book on this subject titled, The Black Swan. ‘Black swan’ events are unpredictable and often coincide with major turning points. Recently, a pair of black swans converged, sparking a...
Getting major financial decisions right makes up for a lot of little misfires. And one of the biggest decisions people face is deciding when to buy a home. To make the right call, it’s important to avoid common misconceptions that surface when people try to compare the benefits of owning a property versus renting. Is a Residence An Asset or...
It is now becoming obvious to everyone the Coronavirus will put a big strain on global commerce, and markets are quickly discounting that. In my last post, I said stocks may be on the verge of a correction. It didn't take long to arrive. Since last Wednesday, the S&P 500 is down 7.6%. Below is a synopsis of our current...
Investing well isn’t about certainty or possibility. Rather, it’s an exercise in probability. This is especially important to remember in the current climate. Only 45 days into the new year, investors are already dealing with several curveballs. Who could have envisioned a manic short squeeze in Tesla? Or a bear market in oil right out the gate? Topping the list...
Kobe Bryant said he hoped people would remember him more for investing than basketball in 20 years. While his business career was tragically cut short, he still managed to achieve a lot in a short time. Bryant knew how to maximize resources, which is arguably the most important trait of a superior capitalist. Kobe Bryant was always in a hurry...
If you got dizzy reading too many 2020 investment outlooks, and are still unsure how to position your portfolio this year, focus on fiscal and monetary policy. These are the most important market catalysts you can bank on, for now at least. Several top hedge fund managers recently attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Interesting soundbites emerged from...
Two years ago, I introduced Forbes readers to the “Dobermans of the Dow.” The Dobermans are my version of the “Dogs of the Dow” strategy, which Michael O’Higgins popularized via his 1991 book, Beating the Dow. Using O’Higgins’ approach, investors will typically buy the ten stocks from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) with the highest dividend yields at the...
It seems mythical that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams took their final breaths hours apart on July 4, 1826. The odds anyone dies on Independence Day are just 1 out of 365. But two of America’s Founding Fathers, both pulling the same pinball? On the same day, in the same year? Come ‘on… Another interesting fact: 3 of the first...
5G is coming. Are you positioned to capitalize? The name “5G” stands for fifth-generation mobile networks. About once every decade, wireless technology experiences a major paradigm shift. 1G (~1980): The first generation pioneered wireless telecommunications. Those "Brick" cell phones you see in some 1980’s movies are from the 1G Era. They weighed 2 pounds, offered just a half-hour of talk...
If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. - Lewis Carroll The most common financial questions involve the word “enough.” Do we have enough? Will we have enough? That’s what most people want to know. Another question must be answered first, though, and that is: “Enough for what?” Many people haven’t seriously pondered this question...