During my 55 years in the investment business, two of the questions I have received most often while talking clients and customers, are “Should I get out of the market?” and “How should I weight my portfolio?” The answer to the first question is easy, no. Stay invested. Jumping in and out of markets will only make you miss days you’ll wish you hadn’t. The answer to the second question is straightforward but might take more discipline on the part of the investor to implement. It is balance. You should always aim for a portfolio that works to counterbalance risk. Here’s how I explained … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2019
Is Your Credit Card One of the 100 Million Just Breached? Would You Even Know?
A hacker recently stole information on 100 million credit card customers from one of the biggest card companies in the world. According to The Wall Street Journal, the hacker was able to access information like "names, addresses, ZIP Codes, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth and self-reported income, the bank said. Consumer data including credit scores, credit limits, balances, payment history and some transaction data are also part of the breach. Also exposed were about 140,000 Social Security numbers and 80,000 linked bank account numbers." The victims were customers of … [Read more...]
Where Could the Next Bubble Be?
At Bloomberg Sarah Ponczek, Anchalee Worrachate, and Laura Benitez report that unease is growing in financial markets over loose monetary policy and the potential it has for creating an asset bubble. Of the areas drawing most concern, leveraged loans lead the pack. The authors write about the market for leveraged loans: Few markets draw more concern than leveraged loans, used by typically junk-rated companies to fund everything from private equity buyouts to shareholder dividends. The debt -- either directly or through securitized products -- usually ends up in the hands of mutual funds, … [Read more...]
You Won’t Believe the Suggestion a BlackRock Investing Officer Made to the ECB
It is hard to imagine clear-headed people who would argue the efforts of the European Central Bank (ECB) to stimulate Europe's economy have been very successful. Many might even argue the ECB has failed to boost the economy on the continent in a meaningful way, despite unprecedented intervention measures. Central bankers usually have two choices when unprecedented economic stimulus measures fail, 1) abandon them, or 2) double down. At the FT, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed-income, Rick Rieder, encourages the ECB to double down in a big way. Rieder starts out strong. … [Read more...]
Follow this Rule to Secure Your Family’s Investment Success
When it comes to fiduciary responsibility, you always, always want to work with a registered investment advisor. As an investment advisor, I am required by law to act in the best interest of my clients. Stock brokers, wealth managers, CFP’s, and any other acronym are not if they’re not a registered investment advisor. They follow a mushy “suitability” law. When it comes to mis-direction and confusion, this industry is shameful. Remember, for you and your family, the key words here are “required and fiduciary”. Take the SECURE Act currently in the meat grinder of Congress. It … [Read more...]
Is Bitcoin a Currency, or an Asset?
Bitcoin speculators are in the midst of another wild ride in the crypto-currency's price, which shot up as high as $13,387.26/bitcoin on June 26 after having settled for months in the $3,500-range. Prices have now fallen back below $9,500 in the span of a month, taking back some, but certainly not all, of what speculators made in the last rally. Something many Americans are confused about is, whether bitcoin is a currency, or an asset. For tax purposes, the IRS is treating bitcoin like an asset. Laura Saunders reports for the WSJ: According to an IRS spokesman, there is no explicit … [Read more...]
Will the Normalization of Same-Day Shipping Hurt Amazon?
Amazon has become a dominant force in online retail, known for helping small businesses deliver their products to customers quickly. Today though, Amazon isn't the only company offering fast shipping services for small companies. Shopify is targetting one of Amazon's most notable advantages. Simran Jagdev reports for Bloomberg: Same-day shipping is becoming the norm for online shoppers but for smaller merchants it can be a logistical nightmare. That’s where Shopify Inc.can step in, says Ric Kostick, chief executive officer of 100% PURE. The natural skincare company ships up to 5,000 orders … [Read more...]
Time to Get Defensive?
The Wall Street Journal's Corrie Driebusch reports a move toward consumer companies in stock markets. Driebusch calls the move "a sign that investors are hedging their bets by picking up shares of firms they believe will provide returns in a struggling economy." You'll notice on my chart below during this century, consumer staples have beaten tech stocks and the S&P 500 index. Now it seems, investors are buying consumer staples in a bid for defense against a potential economic recession. Driebusch writes: One of the hottest stock-trading strategies lately is buying shares of … [Read more...]
The Fourth—and Most Dangerous—Investment Super Cycle of My Career
I have now been working in the investment industry for 55 years, and over that time I have lived through four stock market super cycles, including the present, and most dangerous one. I explained the four cycles in March 2011, writing: Stock Market Super cycles I assure you, I do not plan to get gored on the next angry charge. Here is exactly how to look at things. Read and re-read what I am going to tell you here, and remember this stuff for the rest of your life. Since I got into the investment business, there have been three completed big cycles swings in the stock market. Cycle number … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: What a Great Weekend for YOU to be in Newport
The Newport Folk Festival is this weekend. We were out on the Tom Sawyer last night and could see the tents and stages set up at Fort Adams. The weather predictions are looking perfect, and it would be a great weekend for you to spend your retirement life in Newport. You can check out the lineup here. Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. … [Read more...]
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