This is the time of year when you start figuring out how much you support Uncle Sam, literally. As you tally up the numbers, it’s hard not to wonder if you’re paying too much in taxes. Be careful, though, because going down this road leads to thoughts like: “Well, if I just invest in stocks, I’ll avoid taxes, and, if I need to sell, I’ll pay the more palatable capital gains rate.” Don’t get distracted and let “tax planning” ruin your portfolio. Take a deep breath. Look around you and consider your environment and how it relates to your situation. Don’t Let the Wise “Guys” Get in Your … [Read more...]
The Big Winners When You Faithfully Give to a Cause (Retirement)
If you didn’t read about the massive fund controlled by the Mormon Church, you will. With 16,000 plus members tithing 10% of their earnings, the fund has amassed a $100 billion fortune—a cash-generating behemoth that would make Warren Buffett blush. Roger Clarke, the head of the investment fund Ensign Peak that controls the church’s money, used to be a professor at Brigham Young University, reports Ian Lovett and Rachael Levy for the WSJ. He was running an investment firm in Los Angeles when he got the call. “It certainly wasn’t the most attractive financial office,” Mr. Clarke said. “But … [Read more...]
RAGE Gauge: Booming Gun Sales Are A Sign of Trump’s Strong Economy
You know I have clients in the gun business. They tell me the last couple of months were record-breakers for their business. Typically booming gun sales are a sign gun control supporters are making another push to ban Americans’ firearms. This time though, it’s a sign that more Americans have jobs and have more money in their pockets to spend on hobbies. The quality of jobs is getting better as well. U6 unemployment, the measure of unemployment that includes temporary and part-time workers, is near all-time lows at 6.9%. If Americans want full-time work, they are having a much easier … [Read more...]
Remembering Bob Marley: Natural Mystic
It’s not every day you get to go to Jamaica. I remember going for Spring Break one year while studying at Babson. When you’re in Jamaica, you hear Bob Marley songs in the wind as if he’s playing somewhere off in the distance. A special surprise at the end of our trip was hearing his songs performed live by his son Ziggy to a huge crowd on the cliffs of Negril. Last week Bob Marley would have turned 75, and in a way, he will always be with us thanks to the reggae sound he created. In an interview with NPR, Ziggy explains that his father kept things light even when they visited him on … [Read more...]
When the Rules Apply to You but Not to Them
Justin Baer reports at The Wall Street Journal that the giant bond investing firm, Pacific Investment Management Co. (Pimco), "was aware employees had used the services of the firm founded by the figure at the center of a sweeping college-admissions scandal but it had “no information” suggesting these workers acted improperly." He writes: Douglas Hodge, a longtime Pimco executive who served as its CEO until 2016, was one of 33 wealthy parents accused this week of paying for bogus entrance-exam scores or fake athletic achievements to get their children admitted into competitive … [Read more...]
A Lesson from Legends: “Don’t Confuse Activity with Achievement”
The Boston Celtics reached yesterday’s NBA trade deadline without making a trade. “Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge keeps a John Wooden book on his desk,” explains the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, “and he likes to think back to one of the legendary UCLA coach’s famous quotes when the NBA trade deadline arrives.” Himmelsbach writes: “Don’t confuse activity with achievement,’’ Ainge said. “It might be that the best thing you ever did was stand pat. Red [Auerbach] told me in my first year doing the job, ‘The best trades I ever made were the ones I didn’t make. I held … [Read more...]
You Probably Know Exactly Why People Want to Abandon Big Cities
You probably know exactly why people want to abandon the big cities of America. They look at rural states and towns with low taxes and low cost of living, and they see the freedom they expect America to provide. But in the big cities of America, when the government tries to solve problems of high rents and lack of housing, it actually makes them worse. The Wall Street Journal's editors explain how big-city governments are actually hurting their residents with overregulation of the housing market, writing: In a December 2019 working paper, Harvard and University of Pennsylvania researchers … [Read more...]
Don’t Let Tax-Free Wag Your Fixed Income Investments
When you read about crap muni bonds issued by Chicago, you see why they do not belong in your portfolio. The Editors at The Wall Street Journal write (abridged): In January Chicago shaved $310 million off this year’s deficit by issuing another $1 billion in sales-tax bonds to refinance outstanding GO bonds. Investors didn’t seem to care that the new bonds are subordinate to the previous tranche. Tax-exempt bonds maturing in 2040 yielded 2.4%, which is on par with the 30-year Treasury. We know investors are hungry for yield, but are they famished? Chicago’s budget woes are mounting, and … [Read more...]
Sunbelt States Finding Solutions for a Swarm of Tax Refugees
The biggest problems in low tax southern states are ones high tax states wish they had, too much growth. Low tax states have become so desirable for movers and retirees that they are now looking for places to put all the people seeking an escape from the city where they can live small, cheap and safe in America. In The Wall Street Journal, Valerie Bauerlein profiles one town dealing with a mass influx of newcomers who are looking for a better America. She writes of Lake Wylie, South Carolina: Since 2000, Lake Wylie has tripled in population to 12,000 on the strength of its good schools, … [Read more...]
You Invest, They Win: Ray Dalio Lives his “Best Life” on Your Fees
The founder of the largest hedge fund in the universe, Ray Dalio, tweeted this from Burning Man: Just back from Burning Man. Reminds me of Woodstock with better art (installations) and less good music. What a great vibe and what amazing creativity! Photo is with my pal and coworker Jeff Taylor at his great music camp Root Society. If you go next year, 1-5am is best. Are these the guys you want running your money? You invest, they win. But hey, it’s not about the money. It’s about saving the planet man. Because if it’s about the money (Dalio has a personal net worth of $19 billion) then … [Read more...]
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