Since our fee structure is straightforward, we strive to make our value greatly exceed any fees you pay. If you've never had someone assist you with investing in the past, we want to make the switch easy.
- A Critical Moment (Q2 2010)
Excerpt: We would like to be a little more serious this time. Things are not going well in the country or the world, and this isn't going to be easy. Is it a "New Normal" as our friends at PIMCO say? Well, in some ways it is.
- Europe Debt Woes (May 2010)
Excerpt: Last week was a flashback experience of the September-October 2008 market swoon. What is going on? The domestic economy has been slowly healing from the 2008 financial crisis, and the US banking system has been able to work its way out of a deep hole following the purchases of mortgage backed securities by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury’s TARP program, bank stress tests and then massive injections of private capital.
- Malaise vs. Morning in America (Q1 2010)
Excerpt: I am reminded of a time, 30 years ago, when we faced a "crisis of confidence" and America had to ask itself if this was the end of life as we knew it. It really has been that long since we faced anything like this. In the late 70’s we had the misery index (inflation plus unemployment) over 20, its peak. OPEC seemed to control oil prices, and we were powerless to do anything about it.
- The Lost Decade? (Q4 2009)
Excerpt: Ten years ago we read headlines like "The ten stocks which will change the world," followed by dreamy visions of Cisco and Intel reaching for the stars. It was a new world of magical multiples and instant fortunes! We all know that plan ended in tears, and now we look back and survey the rubble and wax poetic about the dismal world we live in. As always, the past (recent past) is present and future in the eyes of the punditry.
- A Harrowing Journey (Q3 2009)
Excerpt: As we look back and contemplate the recent economic and market events, no one could blame us for being left speechless. I think any truly thoughtful person has to be stunned and somewhat humbled by what has transpired. Of course, the pundits on CNBC have not missed a beat...
- The Birth of the Modern II (Q2 2009)
Excerpt: The question we read and hear everywhere we go is this one – what to do now? The spoken or unspoken premise to the question is that we are living in a new world. The old rules don't apply, and traditional investing approaches, disparagingly referred to as "buy and hold" by second rate pundits and your local broker, are worse than useless. Sound familiar?
- Black Swans and the Holy Grail (Q1 2009)
Excerpt: The world equity markets have declined for six straight quarters now, although we had some recovery in the last month. 2008 was one of the biggest calendar year drops ever, and the carnage continued in January and February of this year.
- Now That the Inauguration is Over... (January 2009)
Excerpt: Six years ago I sat in a conference room with an investment committee, as we were in the process of being hired. They had been working with a broker (masquerading as a consultant) and had enjoyed his brilliance until his growth strategy blew up (remember the last bear market?). Still saddled with some bad habits, they asked me what economic prognostications and writings I would be sending them, to keep them abreast of the market, so to speak. Only half in jest, I offered them a subscription to The Economist.
- The Madoff Scandal (December 2008)
Excerpt: As you all certainly know by now, what appears to be the largest Ponzi scheme in history has been discovered, and tens of billions of dollars appear to have been lost (the exact number is not at all clear). Sadly, it appears many nonprofits and charities have lost large amounts of money, in some cases needing to close altogether – a devastating blow to their good efforts and to the confidence of all in the financial markets at a time (2008 – need we say more?) when we could least afford it.
- Post Election: The Search for the Bottom (November 2008)
Excerpt: In a recent talk, I mentioned something I thought of as important, that we often seem to look in the wrong place to assign credit or blame for our great national events. We were at that time looking at the election of the President, but I suggested that the economic issues might well be decided on Capitol Hill, not in the White House. And so they have.
- The Market's Response to the Financial Crisis (October 2008)
Excerpt: Well, the third quarter ended with a bang. The transformation of the financial landscape continues unabated. The S&P 500 fell 9%, and the credit crisis continues as the U.S. House of Representatives wavered for the week until finally passing the "Wall Street Bailout Bill" today. Perhaps if someone in Washington understood a little bit about marketing, they would have picked a better name for the bill! And could they have paused in their name calling and finger pointing for 10 minutes to get the job done?
- The Birth of the Modern (September 2008)
Excerpt: What we are seeing here is not the end of the world, but it is the end of a world. The world of the old brokerage firms. Once upon a time there were many, and when E.F. Hutton talked… you remember. No more. Now the thundering herd is silent, the Bear is quiet, and even Lehman, perhaps the class of the street, is gone too.
