The adage “defense wins championships,” is perhaps as true in investing and personal security as it is in football. In April of 2012 I explained to readers that investors who understand two critical points about their investment strategy will be better prepared to defend their capital. I wrote: What’s your competitive advantage? It does not matter what your endeavor, if you do not have a competitive advantage, you must expect, at best, a mediocre outcome. A surgeon who performs a given operation many times a week will always enjoy a competitive advantage over a surgeon who performs that same … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2019
Is Your Grandma Getting Scammed?
Elder financial abuse is a rapidly growing problem in America. As the population ages, and wealthy boomers retire, they are being taken advantage of by unscrupulous scammers. Last year banks reported over 24 thousand cases of elder financial abuse in America. That's more than double the totals from only five years ago. Americans can fight such elder financial abuse by working with a reliable advisor earlier in life to build an investment plan that is right for them, and will stand the test of time as they age. Those advisors should absolutely be held to a fiduciary standard. If you ask your … [Read more...]
In the Hamptons, Buyers Look for Bargain Homes under $3 Million
Oshrat Carmiel reports in Bloomberg that homebuyers in the Hamptons are looking for "bargain" homes of under $3.3 million. She writes: Buyers of Hamptons homes in the third quarter didn’t want to splurge on something too costly, but they were willing to bid up cheaper properties in their search for a vacation retreat. Purchasers agreed to pay more than the asking price in 10 percent of deals for properties under $3.3 million -- this quarter’s definition of “non-luxury” homes, making up the bottom 90 percent of the market, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and … [Read more...]
Wealth Management Pitfall: ESG
Don't fall into the ESG trap. Read what I wrote here on December 11, 2018. Your wealth manager should act as your fiduciary, plain and simple. Sounds easy. But in reality it’s not. Today, I want to help you overcome one of the more absurd obstacles you may face. It’s called environmental, social and governance investing, or ESG. Thousands of investment managers have pledged to follow ESG—a pledge to abide by a U.N.-sponsored statement of ESG principles. Investing in fossil fuel stocks, for example, would likely be on the “no go” list of companies available for investment. You can forget … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy: Out of Gas in Newport
Update: Read more about Day 4 of Newport's gas outage here. You may have read that Newport, RI lost natural gas service Monday, impacting 7,000 customers and approximately 10,000 people. It’s reported that a single faulty valve froze at National Grid’s distribution center dozens of miles north in Weymouth, Massachusetts, causing the system’s pressure to drop significantly. Newport is located at the end of this gas line system, making it most vulnerable to a loss in pressure. Imagine your head being Weymouth and your foot being Newport and you get the idea. Monday morning was … [Read more...]
Can Reuse Save the Mega Brands, and the World?
Some of the world's biggest branded consumer products and food companies, including Procter & Gamble, Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever are planning to begin trial sales of their products using reusable packaging. The recycling company, TerraCycle, will handle deliveries and pickups of the products and their packaging. Saabira Chaudhuri reports for The Wall Street Journal: Refillables once dominated industries such as beer and soft drinks but lost out to convenient, affordable single-use containers. In 1947, refillables made up 100% of soft-drink containers by volume and 86% of beer … [Read more...]
Will J.C. Penney Follow Sears into Bankruptcy?
After a brutal 2018, the carnage in the retail industry continues into 2019. Today The Wall Street Journal reports that J.C. Penney could follow its long-time rival Sears into bankruptcy. Missteps by management and failed rejuvenation attempts have led J.C. Penney to the brink. Suzanne Kapner reports: J.C. Penney Co.’s JCP +0.00% sales are falling, its stores are stuck in malls and the turnaround strategy keeps changing. Now, three months after the embattled retailer hired a new chief executive, a handful of senior positions remain vacant. The series of events is prompting analysts and … [Read more...]
Risk Analysis for Consistent, Positive, Prudent Returns
Through the years, I have been relentless in my efforts to alert investors of the dangers of taking on too much risk. It may seem redundant, but investor minds have been proven to be easily distracted, especially when it comes to matters of prudence. In August 2014 I explained my policy of risk avoidance, writing: One of the most important investment steps you can take is to look at the big picture—that is, get high above street level so you can actually see the parade. Big risks are always big ideas, loaded with complexity and controversy. In most cases, the media is geared to work against … [Read more...]
Will the First Self-Driving Cars also be Planes?
Every old sci-fi cartoon and film seems to be filled with flying cars, whisking characters quickly and efficiently beyond any ground-level impediments directly to their destination. While such vehicles have always seemed just out of reach, that hasn't stopped entrepreneurs and big corporations from pursuing the idea of "flying cars." Now, Boeing, the pioneering aerospace mega-corporation, is building something that could come close to delivering on the promise of the flying car. Bloomberg's Anurag Kotoky and Julie Johnsson report: A Boeing Co. flying car designed to whisk passengers … [Read more...]
How to Avoid 70% Tax Rates
There are few reasonable people in America who believe a return to the crushing tax rates of the 80s are a good idea, but these are not reasonable times. Newly elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has suggested a return to the 70% tax rates on high income earners that were normal during Carter era. You would think that the economic power unleashed by the tax cuts shepherded through Congress by President Ronald Reagan would be enough evidence to have killed such punitive tax rates forever, but it would seem that some Americans have short memories, or in the case of the very … [Read more...]
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