Five Reasons You Should Not Panic in the Face of Market Volatility
1. It is not really “different this time.” Vanguard, in a recent study entitled “Stock Market Volatility: Extraordinary or ‘Ordinary’?”, concludes that recent volatility appears extraordinary compared to the relative calm of the markets in 2010, but is in fact “ordinary” when compared to similar periods characterized by major global macro events – they cite […]
Hedging Inflation: Comparing Commodity Futures and TIPs
I have generally recommended the use of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPs) as a hedge against inflation. Are Commodity Futures an attractive inflation hedge similar to TIPs? In a March 2011 article, author Geetesh Bhardwaj, addresses the use of various investments as a hedge against unexpected inflation. (Let me know if you would like a […]
Combating Investor Overconfidence
In my discussions with clients and prospects, one of the recurring themes is how, as their investment advisor, I can best provide advice contrary to their bias, intuition, or reaction to current business/economic events. An example is the current investor bias toward equities since the stock market has performed so well recently and bonds are […]
The Results Are In – Active vs. Passive
Most investors track the direction of the financial market by checking where the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrial Average finishes on a daily basis in their local paper. Some days they were pleased with what they saw and others not, but as a whole 2010 left most investors optimistic about the direction of their […]
Three Reasons to Ignore Market Performance
Capital Market Recap Equity markets finished the year with a flourish.
Expert Answers To Your Roth Conversion Questions
From time to time we will be sharing insights from some of the people in our network of professional advisors who assist our clients with tax advice, estate planning, and other issues. Following is an interview with Michael J. Reilly, CPA, Partner in Charge of Tax Services at Dannible and McKee, LLP—Certified Public Accountants and […]
Our Fiduciary Responsibility: Avoiding “It’s Bad and Getting Worse” Mentality
Experienced investors have heard this before. It is a headline used many times over the last 60 years. Fear sells. So the media sells high unemployment, potential deflation, and pending economic gloom. Some in the investment community join in the chorus, but fiduciary advisors have a responsibility to muffle the noise and help investors take […]
Fear Returns to the Market – Good for Investors?
First quarter stock market gains were erased during May and June leaving values well below the high water mark reached in the fall of 2007. As the chart shows, large-cap stocks (S&P 500) have lost nearly 10% annually over the past three years.
Control the Controllable, Ignore the Rest
Like most things in life, the simple approach to doing something almost always tends to be the best. This theory holds true when it comes to investing and is one of the cornerstones behind our investment philosophy. “Gross return in the financial markets, minus the cost of financial intermediation, equals the net return actually delivered […]
Where to Invest in 2010
After the recent and extreme turmoil we have experienced in the financial markets, it seems like in every newspaper or magazine you can find an article about where to invest in 2010. So, where do you put your retirement nest egg and what do you believe?