How you invest in AI speaks volumes about you, specifically your risk tolerance. Because it’s been Your Survival Guy’s experience that investors realize their risk tolerance is intolerance, like a food allergy, after the fact. When they lose money. When you consider AI’s pull-on energy, doesn’t it make sense to have some utilities? Why not include ones that have a history of paying dividends and increasing them? The WSJ reports: In the U.S., with the most data centers, their share of electricity consumption could rise from 4% in 2022 to 6% in 2026, the International Energy Agency … [Read more...]
Rule #1: Don’t Lose Money
Warren Buffett famously said, “Rule #1, don’t lose money. Rule #2: don’t forget rule #1.” When I think of this, I’m reminded of Your Survival Guy’s efficient frontier. Worry more about how you invest than what you invest in. Keeping within your proper comfort zone is up to you. Action Line: If you need help finding your comfort zone, let’s talk. P.S. Happy Efficient Frontier Friday! “What do you do if the market crashes?” a new client asked me last week. “Good question,” I said. “I get that one a lot.” And it’s one of the reasons I’ve been writing to you, valued reader, on my … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy Breaks Down Boxes, Do You?
Your Survival Guy’s family does its best to live a green life. We recycle. But apparently, when it comes to breaking down cardboard boxes, that’s a one-man job—mine. I don’t remember signing up for this job. The boxes just pile up in the foyer. Then, when I trip over one and ask if “I” can take them out to the garage, I’m answered as if it is “my” job: “No leave that I need to return it.” Then there’s the humiliation of the blue recycling bin. Yes, I know how to recycle. But that doesn’t stop the city from slapping a “how to recycle” sticker on my blue bin. It’s embarrassing. And it’s … [Read more...]
Investing Is Math
Originally posted Oct 30, 2023. Sorry to burst your bubble, but investing is math. Sure, prices are fun to watch, but they aren’t the math of collecting income from your stocks, bonds, or that nephew who owes you. That’s math. You can see the money, rent, dividends, income, and even crumpled dollars coming into your possession. That’s investing. Look at today’s yields on bonds. Finally, you can sink your teeth into them. You can plunk $100,000 in a one-year bond yielding five percent and be pretty sure, especially in Treasurys, you’re getting $5000 plus your original outlay at maturity. … [Read more...]
When You’re in Control, You Have Opportunities
Control is behind a lot of the problems in the world. But you have more control than you think. You, unlike a government statistic, don’t need to buy the basket of goods the Feds use to measure inflation. You are a value hunter. You seek out good deals and live to talk about them because what’s more fun than talking about a good deal? When the government comes out with inflation stats, you and I know we’re at nosebleed levels already. It’s not like prices are going to fall. Now that we’re at this point, steady increases are just piling onto already too-high prices. But as an inflation … [Read more...]
Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness
Yes, money can buy you happiness. When you spend within your means and still have enough to take that dream trip, that can truly make you happy. You’re spending some of your money doing just that. I know this because it’s what we talk about. Right now, for example, some of you are returning from a European vacation or Central America, while others are enjoying time in the sun from Apalachicola to Delray Beach and the Keys. You gotta live. And live you can if you’re careful with your money. As my mother always says, “prior planning” can make dreams come true. The same can be true with … [Read more...]
This ARK is Sinking
Jack Pitcher of The Wall Street Journal reports that Cathy Wood’s ARK fund is sinking. No surprises here. Momentum investing swings both ways. Pitcher writes: Cathie Wood’s investors are jumping ship. They rushed into her funds and won big during the pandemic, when the star fund manager became a social-media sensation by making bold bets on disruptive technology stocks such as Tesla, Zoom Video Communications and Roku. They largely stuck with her when the funds’ fortunes reversed after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. Now, after years of bruising losses, many of them have had … [Read more...]
“That’s Why I Hired You,” They Tell Me
My clients tell me, “That’s why I hired you.” They say it when I explain why we’re buying or selling certain positions. “That’s why I hired you.” One of my long-time doctor clients tells me, “I do what I do. You do what you do.” When he says to me, “I’ll leave that to you,” I know he’s thinking, “That’s why I hired you.” Now, Your Survival Guy is no doctor. I can’t fix your teeth, hips, or knees. But I do specialize in pain relief. Because amazingly, with a few investment tweaks here and there, I may help bring back your beautiful smile or put a jump in your step. Sometimes, we don’t … [Read more...]
“What Do You Do If the Market Crashes?”
“What do you do if the market crashes?” a new client asked me last week. “Good question,” I said. “I get that one a lot.” And it’s one of the reasons I’ve been writing to you, valued reader, on my efficient frontier study. The efficient frontier is a visual expression of my phrase, “It’s not what you invest in, but how you invest that matters most.” In other words, in a diversified mix of stocks and bonds, what was the risk and reward? How does Your Survival Guy get through tough markets? I listen to those who guide me with their decades of experience, like my father-in-law Dick … [Read more...]
This Is about Your Survival, Not Anyone Else’s
You don’t want to let the perfect get in the way of the good. Specifically, when it comes to your retirement life, you want to get paid to be in the markets. You don’t want to miss out, hoping to get in at the “right” time. When looking at the current interest rate environment and the risk-free rate of return on T-Bills, it’s hard to ignore what the two-year is paying—close to five percent as of yesterday. Getting five percent on your money locked in for two years is nice, considering how far we’ve come from a zero-interest rate policy. Finally, rates have normalized where money isn’t free, … [Read more...]
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