2020 has seen a major disconnect between growth and value.  In the first quarter, the Russell 1000 Pure Growth Total Return index returned -13.6%, while the Russell 1000 Pure Value Total Return index returned -35%.  If you think about the companies that are most negatively impacted by the bizarre nature of this crisis where economies...Read More

The vicious Covid-19 Pandemic is one of the most interesting and tragic times in history.  Right now, we are at an inflection point.  New cases, hospitalizations and deaths, are declining in Spain and Italy.  Deaths are likely peaking this week and early next week in our hardest hit areas of New York and New Jersey. ...Read More

Well, that was one awful week that we just had, for much of the world, and certainly in financial markets.  I know I feel like I aged a decade this week.  The stock market has been increasingly worried about this Coronavirus over the last few weeks, leading to increased volatility and large selloffs.  This, combined...Read More

“Those times when you get up early and you work hard, those times when you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you’re too tired and you don’t feel like working and you do it anyway:  That is actually the dream.  The destination is the journey.” —Kobe Bryant   It is a...Read More

I stumbled upon a fantastic article about the Tech Bubble and I wanted to share a few key points with you.  This is relevant because current market valuations appear to be very stretched by most metrics.  After an extremely strong 2019 and nearly an 11-year old bull market, investor optimism is quite high.  It is...Read More

Warren Buffett in July, 1999: “If I had to pick the most probable return over the next 20 year, it would be 6%.” Gallup poll in 1999: “Investors expect stocks to return 13-22% annually.” S&P avg. return from 1999-2019: 6.117%. (Source: Vetle Forsland)   As hard as it is to believe, another decade is coming...Read More

Over the weekend, I was reading Barron’s, and there were numerous articles about obtaining enough income in retirement.  The recommendations vary from buying dividend stocks, annuities, and/or bonds.  All of these strategies offer various challenges and risks.   Buying dividend stocks offers income and the potential for capital appreciation.  The problem is that many of these...Read More

To piggyback on our last article discussing the illogical 60/40 portfolio in today’s interest rate environment, I thought I’d pass on this article on how interest rates impact bonds.  Many people don’t realize the immense risks that rising interest rates pose to bonds.  In the inflationary 1970’s, bonds were called “certificates of confiscation” due to...Read More

Historically, it has made reasonable sense for retirees to have a sizable allocation to bonds.  A minimum of 40% was certainly not uncommon.  The logic behind this was that retirees regularly draw from their accounts and are less comfortable with the enhanced volatility that stocks can at times provide.  The supposedly steady income from the...Read More

This morning I read a good article in the WSJ, posted below.  The article discussed that, as a whole, stocks and bonds are pricey by historical measures.  Highly valued stocks and bonds have very likely pulled future returns forward, meaning many investors have less of an opportunity for big gains in the future. “U.S. stocks...Read More