As pensions loaded up on real estate as a “sure thing, can’t miss” investment, office buildings are drowning from a wave of sublease space. Konrad Putzier reports on the glut of office space in The Wall Street Journal, writing: The amount of space listed for sublease surged in the first year of the pandemic to the highest level in decades in some cities. But it fell in the second half of 2021 as offices leased up and some companies took listings off the market. Now it is rising again. Sublease availability across the U.S. increased 3.6% in the first quarter to 159 million square feet, … [Read more...]
Don’t Throw Your Bond Portfolio Out the Window
Remember, as interest rates rise, you’re able to buy bonds at higher yields. We’re not that far from an interest rate level that will be a game-changer for retirees. I like this from Jason Zweig at The Wall Street Journal: Thanks to the recent plunge in prices, the yield on the aggregate U.S. bond market, at about 3.6%, has doubled since Dec. 31. People always chase the past with their money. Investors added more than $445 billion to bond funds in 2020, largely because past returns were so strong. But by the end of that year, the yield on the U.S. bond market had fallen to barely more than … [Read more...]
The Truth About the S&P 500 is Finally Out
You have been reading warnings about the S&P 500 and the truth behind it here on Your Survival Guy for years. Now, everyone else is catching up. The big firms making up a disproportionately large part of the index’s value are suffering declines and bringing the index with them. Matt Murray writes in The Wall Street Journal’s 10 Point email: The 2022 pullback in U.S. stocks is changing investors’ behavior, with more volatility expected. The breadth of the market’s selloff has been striking, dragging valuations lower and tempering enthusiasm for risky bets in the options market. Shares … [Read more...]
Here’s What the Fed SHOULD Do, and Why It Probably Won’t
Your Survival Guy’s take on the Fed’s wavering on future rate increase amounts? Business as usual. The Fed’s a political beast and always fails at doing its one real job—protecting the value of your dollar. The Fed’s been in the business of ruining dollars forever. This is nothing new. So why the uproar? Well, tech investors are getting a dose of reality with Nasdaq down 21.3% YTD. Welcome to investing. When you have politicians pulling levers to get reelected—or in the case of Fed Chairman Powell to get reappointed—then the waters are muddied. Listen. I have the answer. But I’m Your … [Read more...]
Intelligence Report: How $10,000 Grows to $28 Million
Your Survival Guy wants your grandchildren to be as rich as Croesus. How can you help them do that? Get them on the path to riches by putting time on their side. It’s time that’s the key ingredient to compound interest. As Dick Young wrote to you back in July 2016: How $10,000 Grows to $28 Million I’m assuming each of my grandchildren invests $10,000 at age 25 with a goal of compounding that investment for either 30 or 50 years. Each will purchase 500 shares of a stock (at $20/share) with a long history of paying dividends and offering an initial 4% dividend yield. Using an early … [Read more...]
You Can Do Better than Mutual Funds and ETFs with Your Cash
You know how I feel about Fidelity and Vanguard. Great custodians, but there’s a better mousetrap than the mutual funds and ETFs they sell for stock investing. That’s why I favor individual dividend-paying stocks with a track record of consistent dividend increases. Do not take this as a call to immediately sell your mutual funds/ETFs, but it may be time for a revisit. How? Maybe look at your lazy money sitting on your couch, eating your ice cream, and doing nothing. Let’s go. Wake up. Get it out the door. Beat inertia. Dividend investing isn’t a fad. It’s always in style if you care about … [Read more...]
Add Fertilizer to the Growing List of Shortages Threatening America
The world has plenty of food, for now, but the reason that is has much to do with high yields on farmland acreage doused with fertilizers. Without modern farming techniques and the inputs that supply them, food will become more difficult to produce, and perhaps scarce. News 10 reports on Michigan farmers' trouble with fertilizer shortages, writing: A fertilizer shortage is putting the food supply at risk. Fertilizer prices have tripled from where they were in 2021 and it’s forcing Mid-Michigan farmers to change how they grow their crops. “You’re cutting off one hand to save the other,” … [Read more...]
PROSPERITY: Long Term Investment Success Is a Way of Life
How’s everyone feeling about this market? Well, if you’ve been following my dividend-centric, individual bond ladder approach, it hasn’t been all that bad. In fact, it’s been good to finally see markets get down to reality. You can’t have tech valuations based on thin air multiples forever. Or can you? We’ll see. But this isn’t a forecasting piece. The weather is what it is. I like dealing within areas I can control. My favorite being how much I save and how much I work. Isn’t that the key to everyone’s success? There was a time when America was an idea that championed the self-reliant—the … [Read more...]
CHAOS: Don’t Sacrifice an Entire Retirement with This Mistake
You know from here, here, and here that saving for retirement is easier said than done. When should you secure your finances and move to a more defensive stance? When do you meet with a planner and talk about income needs? Are you on the right path right now in the middle of the chaos? What happens when Nasdaq craters by 20% in the first four months of the year? This is all real-life stuff. We’re all living it in real-time. When it comes to a return on your savings, I want you to be laser-focused on the return of your savings. Too many investors talk about buying low and selling high … [Read more...]
Robo-Advisors: When You Have a Lot More to Lose than Money
Update 5.2.22: Just when you thought robo-advisers couldn't get worse, they're marrying up with ESG investing, which you know from here, here, and here that you should avoid. The target of these two investing fads? Young people, of course. The Wall Street Journal reports: More young adults are looking to invest in ESG, but many don’t know where to start and can’t meet the investment minimum to work with a full-service financial adviser. Money-management firms are adding options to attract these customers, for whom investing even small amounts with an environmental, social or governance … [Read more...]