You can just hear the phone conversations and texts going on today with worried investors in Facebook calling their brokers. “Hey, how are we doing?” Which is the exact moment the caller realizes the “we” doesn’t include his broker because he’s off on a long weekend in Florida. Don’t ever mix up “we” with “me” when it comes to your money because you learn the truth—after the losses. Your Survival Guy does not stay awake at night worrying about what the market’s going to do for me. I do not worry about “annual” returns or “comparisons” to benchmarks. These are metrics for those worried about … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2022
Question: Do Alternative Investments Belong in Your Portfolio?
Question: do alternative investments belong in your portfolio? Read this op-ed with care because it’s exactly how Your Survival Guy feels about alternative investments. All’s fine and good until you need your money back and you realize they’re not exactly liquid or what you were sold. Hunter Lewis writes in The Wall Street Journal: Venture and buyout funds are hugely popular—and also imperiled by ethical and other problems. I have a long history with such funds. As an adviser to Yale in the 1970s, I recommended that it make its first venture-capital investment. I gave similar advice to … [Read more...]
The Politicization of the Federal Reserve Is at Hand
The nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to the positions of Federal Reserve board governor with a focus on bank supervision is possibly a watershed moment in the Fed's history. Raskin brings with her years of political views about the banking system's role in society, and how it should be used to achieve the desires of politicians. Now she is poised to bring her ideology right the very heart of America's banking system, and, suggest The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, "damage the economy and the central bank." They write: Markets and businesses have many risks to consider, but President … [Read more...]
FRACK OUT: Is the End of the Shale Boom at Hand?
America's oil production has been boosted for years now by the emergence of shale fracking technologies that released previously unrecoverable deposits of oil and gas from their subterranean confinement and boosted U.S. energy production to new highs. Then came the pandemic, and oil companies began reevaluating the longevity and economic vitality of their shale oil properties. At The Wall Street Journal, Collin Eaton reports: The end of the boom is in sight for America’s fracking companies. Less than 3½ years after the shale revolution made the U.S. the world’s largest oil producer, … [Read more...]
Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness Here’s How
Yes, money can buy you happiness. How? By working for it. Not wishing and hoping the market does it for you. Your most productive asset is yourself. Think about the market as a way to keep what you’ve made. You work too hard for your money to lose it. And when you consider how important your money is to your family’s freedom, you can't afford to take risks. Listen, I’m the weatherman, not the weather. When T-Bills blow around like dust bunnies on a wood floor, you need to invest accordingly. Who else do you know that’s writing to you about this? You know I’m Your Survival Guy, not someone … [Read more...]
Apple Releases Safety Guide As Worries Increase Over AirTag Privacy
What if a stranger you maybe saw once could track your every move? They could follow you home, or to the office, or even to that isolated park where you like to hike. Apple's AirTags have made tracking other people discreetly simple. In an acknowledgment of the danger posed by AirTags, Apple has released a safety guide. Dalvin Brown reports for The Wall Street Journal: Apple Inc.’s AAPL +0.19% AirTags help you find your lost keys or bag. They can also be used in ways that spark privacy and safety concerns—such as stalking or other surveillance. Those concerns prompted Apple to publish … [Read more...]
An End to the Car Shortage?
For the last two years, Americans driving by car dealerships-traditionally bloated with inventory-have seen bare parking lots and empty showrooms. The shortage of silicon chips, an element crucial to modern-day vehicle production, has created a shortage of vehicles across the world. Now, there are signs the vehicle shortage may be abating. Stephen Wilmot reports for The Wall Street Journal: Getting your hands on a new car should become easier this year. The big question for both consumers and investors is at what price. The most surprising projection made by General Motors GM -0.74% when … [Read more...]
How to Invest Your Money for a Lifetime
I can talk to you until I’m blue in the face about how to invest your money over your lifetime. But here’s the condensed version. Get a job, save until it hurts, and repeat for as long as you can. And in retirement, live within your means. In other words, be the caretaker of a lifetime of money for your family. And I’d add, there’s nothing wrong with making money S-L-O-W-L-Y. Because the virtue in making money slowly is that you’ve spent most of your life keeping to a certain lifestyle. You plan. You make lists for special trips of what needs to be done, and it doesn’t get done until you … [Read more...]
How Do You Know When You’re Too Heavily Invested in Stocks?
With years of stock bull markets behind investors, it's no surprise that equities are a large part of many portfolios. But as investors get older, it's important to balance their holdings with bonds. How do they know when their stock portfolio is too large for their age? Anne Tergesen explains in The Wall Street Journal: Older investors’ decision to keep so much in stocks is facing a test right now. Major market indexes all declined sharply in the past week, with the Nasdaq Composite entering a correction. Intraday trading has seen the S&P 500 swing more than 3% some days. Despite the … [Read more...]
STAY GROUNDED: Investors Need Gravity to Keep Their Feet on the Ground
When Your Survival Guy is telling you that the risk-free rate of return is 0.22%, it’s time to pay attention. Sure, the Fed has talked the rate up, but it started the year at 0.09%. Here’s the kicker, when this political virus swept over the world three years ago, the rate was at 2.45%. That was before Your Survival Guy had to evac from Telluride as the world shut down. This is the risk-free rate. It’s the gravity that keeps investors’ feet on the ground. Understand that products out there are selling you down the river, and making promises on your money they might not be able to keep. They … [Read more...]
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