The Biden administration is undermining fiduciary protections created by the Trump administration to protect retirees from money managers who would use their wealth to push the radical progressive agenda rather than to secure the savers' retirements. Now, 25 state attorneys general are suing to stop the Biden administration. Keith Griffith reports for the Daily Mail: The Republican attorneys general from 25 US states have filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's plan to allow retirement fund managers to make 'socially conscious' investment decisions. The federal suit filed on … [Read more...]
Suddenly, Holding Cash Looks Good Again to Many
In The Wall Street Journal, Hardika Singh explains that investors are finding new interest in cash. She writes: The dash for cash on Wall Street is back on. Investors have added about $135 billion to global money-market funds over the past four weeks, according to EPFR data through Jan. 18. That is the best stretch since the four-week period ended May 2020, when those funds logged roughly $175 billion in net inflows. A money-market fund is a form of mutual fund that invests in short-term debt securities including Treasury bills and commercial paper. Companies and consumers often use … [Read more...]
Stocks Go Up and Down: Get Paid Along the Way
Time flies when you’re having fun. But don’t tell that to the investors who got crushed last year. All of a sudden they’re seeing the light—the wisdom in a balanced portfolio. As Ben Graham taught us, you need to have some balance in your portfolio whether it's 30-70 or 70-30 or something in between. I’m reading now how investors need to think about 60-40 after all the hand-wringing about the approach last year. Look, stocks go up, stocks go down. I want you to get paid along the way. The same is true for bonds but with a finish line, especially for individual bonds, in the form of a set … [Read more...]
The Importance of a Balanced Portfolio
For the person who can handle the slow and steady road to wealth, the importance of a balanced portfolio cannot be overstated. In 2011, I coined the phrase “Sleep Well-esley at Night” to capture the safety first, survivalist manner of the balanced Vanguard Wellesley fund. It’s not an exciting fund. After all, close to two-thirds of the Vanguard Wellesley fund is in bonds. The rest is in stocks. The fund's performance over time is a testament to the power of a balanced portfolio. You can see in the chart above that during Vanguard Wellesley's long performance history, the fund has … [Read more...]
Do You Have $500,000 in Savings? Avoid This Nightmare
Originally posted August 2, 2022. Do you have $500,000 in savings? Is it working for you, or is it stuck in the summer doldrums taking up space in your house? Don't let another day go by without seriously considering a conversation with Your Survival Guy about putting your lazy cash to work. Look, there's a reason I'm writing to you, and that's to help you survive and thrive in all aspects of your life. But it's easy to let the money stuff sit around and do nothing. You can only read so much. At some point, you gotta do something. Inertia is the investor's worst nightmare. Take, for … [Read more...]
If You’ve Been with Me, It’s Been a Good Year
If you’ve been with me, it’s been a good year, and the future looks just as good. As Your Survival Guy, I’m focused on you keeping what’s yours—what you’ve made during a lifetime of work and saving. If everyone could remember how hard it was to get to where they are and lock it in their brains there’d be a lot less heartbreak when it comes to money. Remember, I’m Your Survival Guy. I’m just fine living in a cave as the world passes by. Let it. I’m focused on return of assets first, then, and only then, the focus is on return on assets. And let’s get this out of the way. If you’re concerned … [Read more...]
Is There Anywhere to Hide in the Era of High Interest Rates?
In the Financial Times, Ruchir Sharma suggests in the tight money era, wealthy investors will find no place to hide in private investments. He writes: If a bubble is a good idea gone too far, the $10tn global market for private investing in everything from debt to companies to real estate may be one. The rage for private investing began in the early 2000s, after the success of the Yale University endowment fund led by David Swensen, who embraced private investments to diversify away from stock and bond markets and stabilise returns in the long run. Swensen’s definition of “long” was … [Read more...]
“Let Me Tell You About Money Kid”
“How old are you?” he asked. “50,” I said. “Let me tell you about money, kid.” “I’m 74. Sold my business in ’99. Made out real well. But that’s not the point. The guys were arrogant, didn’t understand New Englanders, and they had to shut it down. They’re a big international player. They’re fine. But their way was no way to run my business, kid.” Based on the toughness coming through the phone and the Boston accent, he sounded like he’d be right at home on the docks telling his crew what the job was for the day. “What type of business did you own?” “The toughest one of ‘em all … [Read more...]
Keep It Simple: Work with a Fiduciary Who Has Your Back
Last week, Vanguard announced it was pulling back from the woke agenda targeting companies for their lack of dogmatic ESG adherence. Now, HSBC has announced it's going in the opposite direction. The bank has announced that it will stop funding any new oil and gas field developments. Charles Kennedy reports for OilPrice.com: In an update on its energy policy, the bank said, “We will no longer provide new lending or capital markets finance for the specific purpose of projects pertaining to new oil and gas fields and related infrastructure when the primary use is in conjunction with new … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy Stacking Wood and Compounding Money
With Your Survival Guy’s kids home for the weekend, it was the perfect opportunity to stack another cord of wood. Living in New England, you never know when the next natural gas outage will come. I don’t like the chances it will be smooth sailing, and the thought of being without a source of heat while it’s snowing outside (got a dusting of snow last night) isn’t my idea of fun. “Mornin’,” I said to my son. “I got a cord of wood delivered. Do you want to help stack it after breakfast?” If you recall, after a summer of work a couple years ago, I helped him set up a Roth IRA, and I’ve been … [Read more...]
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