Like many of you, Don and I and our families had a wonderful time celebrating the Fourth of July holiday weekend. When I was growing up, the Fourth seemed mostly about barbeques, friends, hanging out at the pool, and fireworks. It was also always the end-of-season...
July 2016 Monthly Insight: Brexit!
On Friday, June 24, the day after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, we sent out a client update via email. The theme of our alert was that the "leave" vote took world-wide investors by surprise and investors don't like surprises. We also...
June 2016 Monthly Insight: Market Indexes and Benchmarking
When people talk about "the market," exactly what are they talking about? More than likely, they are talking about one of two indexes that are widely reported in mainstream media, financial networks, and many daily publications. These two indexes are the Dow Jones...
May 2016 Monthly Insight: A Special Piece by Nick Murray
This month's monthly insight features a special edition story by Nick Murray, who is in his 50th year in the profession of financial advice and is one of the industry's premier speakers and the author of eleven books. Nick was the 2007 recipient of the Malcolm S....
April 2016 Monthly Insight: Recession or No Recession?
Recently, the focus for investors has been all over the map. This is not an all-inclusive list but it adds up to a whole host of worries investors are grappling with in the short term: Oil prices Corporate earnings The global economy China's economy China's currency...
February 2016 Monthly Insight: The January Barometer
"As January goes, so goes the year." At least that is the case according the old adage made popular by the Stock Trader’s Almanac. This phenomenon is also known as the "January Barometer." It simply means that January’s market’s performance, as measured by the S&P...
December 2015 Monthly Insight: The Clouds Part
Bernard Baruch is not a household name, so a quick background is in order. He was a financier, a stock investor, a philanthropist, and an economic advisor to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. Baruch once quipped, “The main purpose of the stock market...
October 2015 Monthly Insight: Volatility is a Natural Part of the Market
Last month's letter talked about preparing yourself for major market moves, especially downward moves, by conducting "lifeboat drills" in order to dampen your "startle response", which might result in an inappropriate decision that would derail your long-term...
July 2015 Monthly Insight: The “Greek Tragedy” of Debt Default
Over the last month, Don and I have watched with passive interest the long-running saga regarding the potential of Greece defaulting on its scheduled debt payment on June 30. This "Greek tragedy" has actually been running since at least December 2009. As a matter of...
April 2015 Monthly Insight: Takeaways from Warren Buffett’s Stellar 50-Year Track Record
What comes to mind when you hear the name Warren Buffett – investor, mutual fund manager, CEO, entrepreneur, stock picker, philanthropist, or billionaire? Or maybe something else comes to mind? Whatever you think, one thing is clear: he has made a lot of money...