Dinner debates are an annual tradition for many households on Thanksgiving. If the market becomes a topic at your table this year, here is perspective on timely issues your relatives will be thankful for. Where is the market heading? When people discuss the market, this is the proverbial question. In a September post, I described why I thought the investment...
Investing is about 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. If you let the environment control your psychology, you’re not going to win. The S&P 500 is down 5% so far in October. Whether you're a market pro or novice, this sort of environment can be difficult. Here are three tips to help you maintain an emotional edge during market corrections. 1...
Many investors have been learning an unpleasant lesson lately. That is: stocks and bonds can lose money simultaneously. For instance, last week both of the major asset classes declined about 1%. 1% doesn't qualify as a big move in the stock market. But for bond investors, it stings. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) peaked on September 8, 2017...
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." - Lewis Carroll Unless you take a completely passive approach with your investments, it's important to maintain a sense of direction. The primary goal of tactical asset allocation is to stay on the right side of major market trends. That means diagnosing the most probable path...
This week marks the 10 th anniversary of the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11. I’ll never forget the morning it happened. I was an analyst in the Bay Area. Stock futures were down sharply. As folks began trickling into the office, an uneasy feeling hung in the air. One...
With stocks making all-time highs again, I’m having daily conversations with investors who aren’t sure how to invest their money. Many ask: Should we put new money to work at these levels, or wait for a pullback? Others wonder if stocks are in a bubble, which may warrant profit taking. Warren Buffett recently spoke with "Bloomberg Markets" about his current...
In a sense, it’s fitting that ‘debt’ is a four-letter word. The debt narrative is resoundingly negative. America (and Americans) have too much of it. The Europeans are still enduring slow growth because of it. Almost all financial planning literature urges readers to get rid of it. Even just the word… debt…has kind of a stomach-churning ring, doesn’t it? But...
NASCAR has faced serious challenges over the last year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick retired. Bad weather depressed attendance figures. The CEO was recently arrested for DUI and drug possession. And yet despite all of the above, shares of the parent company which hosts the races—International Speedway (ISCA), managed to appreciate roughly 30%. Below is a graph of the...
Readers who have kids—or who remember being one—know the importance of coming-of-age birthdays. Turning 13 means shedding the kid stuff and acting more like an adult (or at least attempting to). Turning 16 in most places means getting a driver’s license, while turning 18 gives us the right to vote. We can legally buy alcohol at 21. After age 21...
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Apple shareholder, Warren Buffett Today is a special day for Apple shareholders, and a celebration of capitalism. The world's first trillion dollar company. Of course, it is just a number. What's so important about crossing a threshold from $999,999,999 to $1 trillion, anyway...
Saving is the first step to building wealth. We all know saving money is important, yet many of us struggle to make consistent progress. Here are nine hacks to help you start saving more today. 1. Remember net worth trumps income Do you know your net worth? Many people know the number on their last paycheck, but not their net...
A little over ten years ago, my former boss, Ken Fisher, wrote a book called The Only Three Questions That Count. Ken has written many books. That one is my personal favorite. The book is about gaining an investing edge by asking questions. Specific questions—designed to help uncover unique insights. The first question is: Which of my beliefs may be...