You know I have been warning you about the big business billionaires who sell ways to save the world, like ESG funds, while really they're just charging you higher fees for a repackaged index fund. For them, it's all about their EGO. Now, The Wall Street Journal's Simon Clark reports on another example of investors being sold the idea of saving the world, only to be bilked by another pretender. Clark writes: “It’s a crucial moment in history. It’s an opportunity to immutably and absolutely change the course of innumerable lives.” Arif Naqvi, a silver-haired man of soft, bearish charm, … [Read more...]
Heating Your Home Could Be a Lot More Expensive This Winter
Since prices and production collapsed because of COVID-19, drilling for fossil fuels has not rebounded as fast as demand, driving up their prices. This winter, reports The Wall Street Journal, prices for heating fuels could jump significantly. Ryan Dezember writes: Propane has rarely been so expensive this time of year, and prices may have to move higher yet to ensure ample supply for winter, when millions of rural Americans rely on the fuel to heat their homes. At hubs in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and Conway, Kan., propane futures traded Wednesday at $1.09 and 95 cents a gallon, respectively. … [Read more...]
Oops! Your Survival Guy’s Encounter at the Grocery Store
In my conversations with you, you're telling me about the impact in your neck of the woods of the Great Resignation. You're telling me about the "Help Wanted" signs, especially in vacation destinations, where many of you live. Help Wanted signs are everywhere in Newport, RI. More on that in a minute. First, I want to share with you a conversation I had with a client who has a front-row seat to the M&A (mergers and acquisitions) world. He told me about a deal he's involved in right now. "E.J.," he said, "for the first time, we're buying a company for its workers, not its client base." … [Read more...]
Report Cards: Your Survival Guy is Watching You
OK, midyear report cards are in, and if you’ve been with me, then you’re smiling. But I have to ask, how much of this feels real to you? Yes, it’s nice to see stocks are up, but aren’t you more interested in knowing you’re going to keep what you’ve made? What you want to concern yourself with moving forward are real returns or, in other words, how much you’re really gaining if inflation eats your savings like a Gypsy moth. What good do higher prices for stocks do if they get cut down by over a third like we’ve already seen three times this century? Your Survival Guy’s battle plan for you … [Read more...]
No Inflation?
The Fed can paper over inflation like shingles on a roof, but the numbers are the numbers. Protect your money accordingly. Try telling new home buyers there's no inflation. Nicole Friedman reports at the WSJ: U.S. home prices surged at their fastest pace ever in April as buyers competing for a limited number of homes on the market pushed the booming housing market to new records. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 14.6% in the year that ended in April, up from an 13.3% annual … [Read more...]
Learn from Your Survival Guy: Coming Clean on Coal
OK, Your Survival Guy timed the market, overweighted a sector, and got emotional—three things you NEVER want to do as an investor. But, hey, I’m Your Survival Guy, not Mr. Perfect, and you can learn a lot from me because I’ve seen a lot. Back in 2015, when coal was a dirty four-letter word, Your Survival Guy felt it was oversold. The market was crazy, I thought, and so I bought a coal ETF, symbol KOL. Hey, the world needs coal, right? Well, apparently not, as my position was cut down like a Georgia pine, except I never heard “Timber!” You see, Your Survival Guy doesn’t live or die by the … [Read more...]
Is This an American Trend That’s Sustainable?
Americans are getting richer, but how long can that last? The flood of stimulus money created a strange phenomenon during the COVID-19 recession. Rather than getting poorer, many Americans, especially wealthier Americans, became richer. The Wall Street Journal reports: The coronavirus pandemic plunged Americans into recession. Instead of emerging poorer, many came out ahead. U.S. households added $13.5 trillion in wealth last year, according to the Federal Reserve, the biggest increase in records going back three decades. Many Americans of all stripes paid off credit-card debt, saved more … [Read more...]
It’s a Trap: High Fees Hamstring ESG Returns
Investors love the idea of helping the world out with their investing dollars. That has made selling ESG funds easy for the world's largest asset managers. They love pitching their funds as a way to "save the world," while quietly charging high management fees. But according to the Wall Street Journal, investors are beginning to notice something. Despite their desire to save the world, they still want to make money from their investments, and that's not always happening with ESG funds. Cheryl Winokur Munk reports: A notable 47% of respondents in the Schroders 2020 Global Investor Study say … [Read more...]
America’s Scorched Earth: Where Energy Goes to Die
You and I know ESG investing is all about EGO and more fees. Like anything, just follow the money, and the truth unfolds right before your very eyes. You and I have been on top of this theme like no other. You understand the implications for your future will be enormous. It’s why I want you to be on the right side as history unfolds. Take this winter’s disaster in Texas, for example, when temps dipped to arctic levels, and there was no wind but for the frozen exhalations of shivering residents huddled together in the darkness of their homes. It was a third-world country. And this was … [Read more...]
Pray for Just a Little Patience
In my conversations with you, you're telling me how you're getting settled into your summer groove and how it's not always easy. I hear you. Because when the days are three times longer than nights, there's a lot of anxiety to "get stuff done." And it doesn't get easier with age. When making coffee feels like climbing Everest, or doing the dishes is the last thing you want to do, remember, you're not alone. This is a time of year packed with pressure, and as we get older, it's more difficult to have patience because we like things the way we like them, and things need to be right. Just ask … [Read more...]
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