Not a down year this century. Projected by Richard C. Young to advance again in 2018! How does your retirement portfolio look? Do you actually have any idea what you are doing? Do you feel like you are over your head and investing with a crap-shoot mentality? Are you subsisting on outmoded, far-too-big mutual funds or, worse yet, those ghastly oversized index funds? Are you a total neophyte on bond investing and pretty much devoid of understanding the miracle of interest, patience, and compounding? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you may require a whole new … [Read more...]

On Wall Street, traders and speculators are closing their doors. The Wall Street Journal’s Rachael Levy recently reported: Boston-based hedge fund Frontlight Capital LP is shutting after fewer than three years in operation, people familiar with the matter said. Four other hedge funds earlier this month announced they were closing, as investors re-evaluate a once-highflying industry plagued by weak returns. Through September of this year, Frontlight’s fund, Frontlight Enhanced Macro Master Fund I, LP, lost 4.17%, according to a document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The fund lost … [Read more...]

Investing is all about attitude. Are you too eager to take on risk in good times? Too ready to cut and run in bad? Can’t commit to an investing plan? Don’t have the resolve to stick to a sustainable withdrawal rate? In early 1999 I talked with the former American League MVP, Boog Powell about attitude. I wrote this that May: I was talking to Baltimore Oriole baseball legend Boog Powell recently. During the baseball season, Boog runs Boog’s Barbecue at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Off-season, he is in Key West occasionally as “guest” barbecue celeb at his high-school buddy’s local spot. Boog … [Read more...]

You may have noticed stocks are acting a little funny lately. Whether it’s scary October, midterms, or earnings, there’s always something to worry about. I’ll tell you, the phones have been real busy here with our Maximizers inquiries, but otherwise pretty quiet from clients. Many are packing up for Florida, travelling in Paris, or enjoying the outdoors. For example, I received a picture emailed from my client at his fishing cabin in Alaska enjoying some freshly caught crabs, writing: “All retirement benefits are not in dollars. Thanks for the help making this happen. I’m the one … [Read more...]

Most “get rich quick” schemes end up turning into “get poor quick” schemes. Reach too deep into the risk pool and you’re likely to fall in. I knew that 30 years ago, and in 1988 I wrote: I’m an ultra-conservative investor at heart…and by intent. I know my reputation in the industry puts me in the most cautious camp possible, and that’s just swell with me. My motto has always been, “Get rich slowly with compound interest.” At even a 7% rate of return, money doubles in about ten years. In IRA, Keogh and other retirement accounts, over half of total return should come from dividends and … [Read more...]

In September of 1992, I outlined the tragic story of a MLB slugger, Jack Clark who had misspent his money and wound up in bankruptcy. I wrote: It’s Time for Bankruptcy Not for you of course. No, I’m writing to you about bankruptcy for Jack Clark, Boston Red Sox slugger, but this story carries a lesson for most of us. Now here’s a guy—a good guy, too—with a three-year Red Sox contract worth $8.7 million. And yet Jack is bust. He has listed $11.5 million in debts, versus only $4.8 million in assets. Clark owns 18 automobiles, including a $717,000 Ferrari. He dumped over $1 million into … [Read more...]

Bond yields are rising, tech stocks look shaky, emerging market currencies are tanking, and in the midst of the longest bull market in history, September property sales in Manhattan are down 39% compared to 2017, with median sales prices falling 9% during that time. There are some warning signs flashing. What should you be doing now to prepare for a future downturn? In April of 2002 I wrote: Here is a historical goody that will offer you much comfort. In every stock market downturn since 1950, with one mini-exception, intermediate-term U.S. Government bonds have risen. Talk about the power … [Read more...]

This is the advice I gave professional athletes and my readers twelve years ago about how to make your retirement dollars last a lifetime. I wrote: I advise you regularly to invest only for dividends or interest. I want you to insist on getting paid, as I do. If you want to speculate with a portion of your capital, that's fine, but do not mess with your primary stash of cash. When you retire, your earning years are over. Kaput. You earn no more. Therefore, every dollar you have the day you retire must be treated with the deepest reverence. Treat each dollar as you would a family member. Would … [Read more...]

Don’t try to be a know-it-all investor. Building a solid foundation on diversification, patience, value, and compound interest, has always worked for me, without having to “know it all.” In 2003 I explained my deliberate method of focusing on dividends and interest to generate compound interest, writing: Invest for Dividends & Interest I’m not a speculator or trader, and I don’t offer strategies for either group. Work hard, invest your hard-earned savings regularly for interest and dividends, and let your investments breathe. Let them take the air. Let them work for you as a … [Read more...]

The simple act of avoiding major losses by diversifying my portfolio and focusing on value and compound interest has allowed me to emerge from the investment war as a winner. It can work for you too if you have the patience and endurance for such a strategy. This method is all about risk management, something I wrote about in December of 2003. Dead Aim… “When the difference between life and death can be counted in milliseconds, you need every advantage you can get. Which is why SureFire developed its Special Operations series to be the best extreme-duty tactical illumination tools in the … [Read more...]