Author Archive
The Real Scoop on Annuities - Part One
Insurance companies have always been major financial institutions, and they could probably have claimed possession of the largest and safest investment portfolios on the planet. At one time, their role vis-a-vis Wall Street was clearly that of a giant customer for the securities that the investment banks and securities firms brought to market. Their real […]
The Rally Is Coming! The Rally Is Coming!
Always buy too soon— because no one will tell you either when the rally will start or, more importantly, how long it will last. Of course those are the two things you want to know, but all you really have to go on is the experience of the past. This is not going to be […]
Asset Allocation for Foundation and Endowment Investment Portfolios
Foundations, endowments and other not-for-profit organizations come in all shapes and sizes. The assets that they control and manage for the benefit of countless projects, charities, and causes is staggering in total and it has become a primary market for the vast array of investment products developed by Wall Street financial institutions. One can only […]
Investment Performance - Better Than You Think
Ouch! The mighty Dow has fallen to within a financial heart beat of its 1999 high water mark, boasting an average per year gain of less than one half of one percent in spite of several interim manipulations designed to improve the performance picture. The S & P 500 Average, an equally prestigious indicator of […]
Investor Political Priorities - A Survey
Here we are, in the midst of a presidential campaign, trying to select a new leader for what is still the most economically powerful nation on Earth. The candidates are kissing all the babies they can get their palms on and smiling until their cheek muscles ache; but will they be able to produce any […]
Just Another Credit Crunch?
Many investors are beginning to think that income investing is every bit as risky as equity investing, but nothing has really changed in the relationship between these two basic building blocks of corporate finance. What has changed in recent years is the nature of the derivative products created by the wizards of Wall Street to […]
Stock and Bond Trading Powers Modern Asset Allocation
For most individual investors, trading is approached in a totally speculative manner. Stock trading, in its more popular forms (Day Trading, Swing Trading, etc.) includes none of the elements that a conservative investment strategy would contain: little if any attention is given to the Quality of the equities selected; Diversification is determined by chance alone; […]
Asset Allocation: Investing by the Numbers
Uno. Asset Allocation is an investment planning tool, not an investment strategy… few investment professionals understand the distinction. Investment strategies are used to implement the asset allocation formula that investment planning produces. Many investors incorrectly believe that investment planning and financial planning are one and the same. Financial planning is the broader concept, one that […]
Calculating Your Investment IQ
Stocks, bonds, index funds; averages, recessions, market rallies and corrections; mutual funds, technical analysis, financial statements; commissions, taxes, and discount brokers. Just how much do you know about investing, or perhaps a better question: is there any “know” in the investment vocabulary? So many terms, ideas, and strategies; so little time and money! Here’s a […]
Investment Performance Analysis Using the Working Capital Asset Allocation Model
It matters not what lines, numbers, indices, or gurus you worship, you just can’t know where the stock market is going or when it will change direction. Too much investor time and analytical effort is wasted trying to predict course corrections… even more is squandered comparing portfolio Market Values with a handful of unrelated indices […]
