You have read about Larry Fink using your money for everything but profit. His use of ESG investing, i.e. using investor funds like a piggy bank to push his environmental and social agenda, hurts Fink's trustworthiness. It's not about investors, it's about Fink's ego. At Real Clear Markets, Peter Flaherty has written a brutal takedown of Fink and his self-promotional behavior. He writes: Last week, Exxon Mobil, one of the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies, lost a critical board fight with Engine No.1, a “woke” small investor group. The win was predictably … [Read more...]

While Joe Biden wants to raise your taxes, even when you're dead, the woke hedge fund and endowment managers are reaping the rewards of their special treatment. They're using your money for everything but what you need, profit. In a lengthy piece at The American Mind, J.D. Vance, (author of Hillbilly Elegy, and probable candidate for Senate in Ohio where he grew up and runs his business) explains how endowments and funds avoid taxes and use that subsidy as ammunition to attack America itself. He writes: Finally, the allocators of capital themselves are going woke. Across our country we have … [Read more...]

Excerpts from my Wednesday presentation to recent grads and associates of an esteemed NYC med school: How to Invest and Create Wealth You’re asking me how to invest. Here’s what I recommend: Start early, participate in your company’s 401(k), reduce your debt, cut your spending, save ‘til it hurts, work as long as you can, and teach your family about money. That should get you started. Doesn’t sound like much fun? I know. But this does. Time Travel is Fun Imagine stepping into a time machine traveling into the future. You spent the day opening up your summer home in the Hamptons, on … [Read more...]

Your Survival Guy is working in the trenches for you. And that's OK. I like the view from where the boots hit the ground. It's where the real stuff happens. Here's what you're telling me this week: "Hello, E.J. Let me know your thoughts when you receive my Secure Upload. I'm sending statements from family members and my business. By the way, I also bought some land in South Carolina and Austin, TX, and I own some gold coins I bought years ago thanks to your father-in-law. Have a nice long weekend. Let's talk Tuesday morning," he said. "Hi, E.J. Weather's beautiful. Wish you were … [Read more...]

Listen up, are you paying attention? Stuff is boiling over around the world. It’s time you prepare accordingly. In talking with a client yesterday, we discussed whole life insurance. I don’t love it. I much prefer term life which we both agreed on (for me, I just want it until my kids are out of college). He said, “You know, that’s exactly what Peter Lynch used to recommend.” You remember Peter Lynch, don’t you? Author of One Up on Wall Street and famed manager of the Fidelity Magellan fund? His name was legendary in the halls of Fidelity when I was working there (Fidelity #1). In thinking … [Read more...]

When it comes to your money, I want you to be a survivor. As you can see in my table, stocks have declined by over 30% three times already in this young century, and I’m talking about blue-chip stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. When we look at the tech-laden NASDAQ and the S&P 500, declines have been far more precipitous—declines as high as 68% and 55% respectively. Moving forward, your job will be to survive the wreckage. I’m here to help. In my table below, you’ll see the performance of the Vanguard Wellesley and Wellington funds during these tumultuous periods in history. … [Read more...]

You and I are in uncharted waters as we look ahead. The next sixteen years are unknown—but those years will make up a good chunk of your pre-retirement savings or retirement years. Let’s look at the past, in sixteen-year groupings, shall we? (Note: Chart four is only halfway there). As you can see, if you had your choice, you’d want to retire in 1981. But since you can’t do that, there’s plenty to worry about—especially when you start socking away serious money. Why risk it on an all-stocks strategy in your 50s? Your 50s are when you need to be dead serious about smoothing out your … [Read more...]