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The Yoda of Drums

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Investing is more art than science—it’s a feeling. The late legendary drummer Freddie Gruber would teach about being in the moment to his students. To him how you approach your trade was just as important as the act itself. … [Read more...]

The Monday Melee: The Longest Bull Markets, and Coffee

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The Longest Bull Markets in the DJIA's History What We're Reading: Where you get the most bang for your buck (TaxFoundation.org) Free iPhone 5 Battery Replacement (Gizmodo) #Buffett, tax the rich, but not me (Wall Street Journal) Warren Buffett's Tax Whopper (Wall Street Journal) The Great American Oil Rush (visual.ly) Go Global. North America a dividend yield laggard (GaveKal Capital Blog) Here's Why #Fed Needs More Diversity of Opinion.(Yahoo! Finance) Worst Things to Buy on Amazon (Kiplinger) Did You Know: Everyone's on Drugs? "According to the latest data from the National … [Read more...]

The Most Overrated Economic Indicator

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The monthly employment report was released today. The headline payroll number in the employment report is probably the most overrated economic indicator released each month. Investors put far too much emphasis on a monthly data point that is revised twice in the following two months and then again once every year. In an economy with over 140 million workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics attempts to determine how many jobs were added each month. Then it guesses at how many were added at businesses that it doesn't survey, and layers on top of that a seasonal adjustment that again skews the … [Read more...]

Most Hated S&P 500 Stocks

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The late great Sir John Templeton, who was a pioneer in global investing and the manager of the Templeton Growth fund from 1954 to 1992 once said "It is impossible to produce a superior performance unless you do something different from the majority.” Templeton was a contrarian. His contrarian investment strategy led to one of the most impressive performance records in mutual fund history. A $10,000 investment in the Templeton Growth Fund in 1954 would have turned into $3 million at Templeton’s retirement in 1992. How can you best invest like a contrarian? Here is a good place to … [Read more...]

How the Rich Invest

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No one likes to lose money. But some are better at keeping what they make than others. A great example is a client I've been working with since the late 90s. We have been through some tough markets together. A large part of her success is knowing what it might feel like to lose her hard earned money. We talked about our Arithmetic of Portfolio Losses chart when a family member recently suggested she get more aggressive and add more to stocks. The arithmetic of losses is pretty clear. Print this out and keep a copy nearby. It might come in handy if you're ever at a loss for words. … [Read more...]

Will the Markets Notice Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?

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Back in 2008, well before U.S. markets began spiraling out of control, Russian stocks tumbled in free fall. This was not an earlier realization of the financial crisis, it was a reaction to Russia’s invasion of its southern neighbor Georgia. You may not remember that invasion because the Olympics were on at the time and of course, it was summer. But from the time the Russians moved into Georgian territory to the time the final signature was placed on the peace treaty (this time span shaded in grey on the chart below), the RTS fell 16%. Meanwhile, U.S. markets dropped 6.7%. Mind you this all … [Read more...]

9% Yield for Warren

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Growing up in the 80s when the dollar was "strong" we would head to Canada to go skiing. Now the reverse is happening. If you've been to Jay Peak in Vermont lately, which is right near the Canadian boarder, you'd swear you're in Canada. There's a lot to like about Canada. For starters its banking system didn't explode back in 2008, and their corporate tax rates aren't the highest in the free world like ours. So can you blame Warren Buffett for jumping in on the Burger King/Tim Horton's deal and the 9% yield? I can. Instead of complaining about how he pays more taxes than his secretary, … [Read more...]

Dividend Stocks for the Long-Run

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When we developed Young Research’s Retirement Compounders (RCs), our aim was to find a compelling competitive advantage to make the RCs a big winner, especially during bad times. Our overriding goal was to help investors like you achieve investment success with comfort and confidence. Our strategy was to accept underperformance during speculative market runs (like we’ve seen in recent years), with the expected tradeoff of better performance during down markets. The idea was never to beat the market over time or on a consistent basis. Rather, we fully expected the low risk RCs (both price … [Read more...]