No one likes to lose money. That’s why when I started building my survival cache over ten-years ago I started with gold. Back then, I spent little time (same as I do today) worrying about where I felt the short-term price of gold was headed. What I wanted to do was build a physical hedge for my cash. Cash is king! Try selling that one to your spouse. But cash is pretty powerful. You never know when you’ll need it. Like when there’s a Wi-Fi outage that shuts-down businesses. No Wi-Fi, no credit cards. No Pizza. Cash is powerful to an empty stomach. But predicting an outage is as … [Read more...]
Dividends are Back!
Dividends are back. “The humble dividend is reclaiming its rightful place as the arbiter of stock-market value. In three of the four biggest developed markets, shares offer a higher yield than the longest-dated government bond, and in the fourth—the U.S.—the dividend yield beats even a 20-year bond,” writes James Mackintosh at The WSJ. But offering higher yields than the longest-dated government bonds is like jumping over a candle stick. “The low returns on the longest-dated bonds are extraordinary: 0.3% on Japan’s 40-year government bond, 0.9% on Germany’s 30-year bund, 2.1% on Britain’s … [Read more...]
“We Are in the First Innings of a Washout in Hedge Funds”
“There is no doubt that we are in the first innings of a washout in hedge funds,” said Dan Loeb of Third Point LLC in a quarterly letter dated April 26. $15 billion has been withdrawn from hedge funds in the first quarter and a lot more is headed that way. Why? The 2 and 20 game seems to have rubbed investors the wrong way—an arrangement where they collect a 2% management fee and 20% of the profits leaving you with the letters e, t, and s of your assets. Then you pay taxes. What’s the word on the street as this dreadful group gathers in Las Vegas for the SkyBridge Alternatives conference … [Read more...]
“It Makes a Great Deal of Sense to Own Gold”
Gold is here to stay. Make sure you own some. As I’ve said in the past, I don’t worry too much about the short-term action of gold. And I don’t buy it to make money. I buy it to hedge against the unexpected. It’s an insurance policy for my portfolio if you will. Is there any insurance for a reckless Federal Reserve the world over? No one knows exactly how this race to the bottom by Central Banks will end. But it is clear that they don’t have much regard for maintaining the value of their currencies. “It makes a great deal of sense to own gold. Other investors may be finally starting to … [Read more...]
When the Wi-Fi Goes Out: The Eagles Take It Easy
Losing your internet connection or Wi-Fi can be pretty annoying. Lately we’ve been experiencing spotty Wi-Fi connectivity at our house. Last night our internet was completely out because a cable was accidentally cut by a “third party” construction company. It’s not the end of the world. But it doesn’t help, especially when your teenagers are trying to do their homework. It’s ironic, now that I think about it, we had the Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) spinning on our record player. This is by far our most played album over the last six months. It’s a perfect early-in-the-week album. … [Read more...]
Learning from the Stock Market Crash of 1929
Here you get a glimpse into what really caused the stock market crash of 1929 from the Cato Institute’s Alan Reynolds courtesy of his 1979 article in National Review. [gview file="https://www.richardcyoung.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/reynolds_speech_19791109.pdf" width="640px" save="1"] … [Read more...]
Do We Really Need to Convert to a Roth IRA?
So you’ve created a Roth IRA because: “My accountant suggested I convert to a Roth IRA.” I get it. Sure it could make sense long-term if the growth of the portfolio is good, and if the law remains the same. That’s too many ifs for me. To feel more comfortable I’d prefer you didn’t have to deal with the issue all together as I pointed out here: Chris [Edwards] is Cato Institute’s Director of Tax Policy Studies and editor of DownsizingGovernment.org. If you’re looking for a way to help advance the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace, you’ve found it in … [Read more...]
Investing in the Forlorn, the Unloved, the Out-of-Favor, Part II
Dividend paying stocks may not always get the recognition they most certainly deserve (they are now!). But they some how have a knack of paying you to be invested. And that’s enough recognition for me. Don’t be afraid of investing in the forlorn, the unloved, or the out-of-favor. They tend to be the one’s that surprise you when they grow-up. In the March 2016 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, Dick Young wrote: The Great John Neff John Neff, in his Vanguard Windsor fund days, was an outstanding proponent of investing in the forlorn, the unloved, the out-of-favor. John was … [Read more...]
Working Millennials: Rent or Buy Real Estate? Part III
Buy of course! As I wrote to you in Parts I, and II the key for you is to be creative and get started: Make the jump from a life of paying “The Man” to one where you pay yourself. A simple concept, yet hard to do. What did I do when I was your age? I made the monumental change in my own mindset—I became determined to pay myself. I bought a multi-family, rented the top two floors and lived on the first with two co-workers from Fidelity Investments. I want you to buy a multi-family type property. It can be a two-family, four-family, you can live in the basement of a brownstone. It … [Read more...]
Working Millennials: Rent or Buy Real Estate? Part II
In Part I told you how I got into real estate and I haven’t looked back since. How can you, a young Millennial, get started? Get creative! Figure out a way to come up with a down payment. I did. I borrowed from my dad. But what if that isn’t an option for you? Well, keep moving forward. Get creative. The best way I have found to be creative is to speak directly with the decision maker. It’s the best way to find out the real story. During my search for a multi-family property in Marlborough, MA I scoured the classified ads with a red pen. I came across an intriguing listing 40 minutes … [Read more...]
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