The U.S. stock market has continued its recent ascent. As of this writing the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA, or “the Dow”) has reached 28,000 and is near to another all-time high. At times like these it can be tempting to “take some money off the table” by reducing your exposure to stocks. After all,

Amidst heated competition, Charles Schwab & Co., TD Ameritrade and Fidelity, among others, have eliminated transaction fees for online trading of ETFs and common stocks. Schwab eliminated its fees on October 7 and its competitors immediately followed suit. This is terrific news not only for our Professional Asset Management (PAM) clients, who utilize these custodians,

A great deal of attention is being paid to yield curve, which is currently “inverted”, and what that might portend for the economy as well as the stock market. Investors should be circumspect with regard to the headlines. Recent research provides more useful insights. The U.S. yield curve plots current interest rates for fixed income

In response to last month’s article (Investment Fallacies, Part 1), a long-time reader asked about some claims he had heard from a well-known TV personality who bought and sold individual stocks. The TV pundit claims that he had the ability to consistently generate positive returns with his approach. The strategy used by this particular personality

Everett Dirksen (U.S. Senator 1951-1969), exasperated with mounting federal expenditures, is said to have quipped “a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” By today’s federal spending standards, “a trillion” might well be substituted for “a billion.” Both the deficit and debt are at an all-time high. The annual federal

As we described last month retail investors have long been confused and ill served by differing service models and regulations that apply to broker dealers and to Registered Investment Advisers. As we anticipated the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early June issued new measures in early intended to address this matter (see the enclosed

The stock market has tumbled in response to ongoing tension over U.S.-China trade relations. The market is forward-looking and has reacted quickly to the impact of recently imposed tariffs and news of possible trade developments. In March AIER’s staff economist examined the trade war’s first year. They estimated that new tariffs by the U.S. government