The question of free markets versus socialism is in the news. We take this opportunity to remind investors that it is logically consistent for investors who accept the primacy of free markets to adopt passive, asset class management over the alternative of active management. In our discussion we draw upon a transcript of a presentation […]

As November drew to a close the European financial crisis grew more severe when the most prudent European government, Germany, could not sell more than about 65 percent of its public debt on offer at an auction. If investors refuse German bonds, then what hope is there for the traditionally more profligate European sovereigns, such

On August 5, after markets had closed, Standard and Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its triple-A rating. Many had predicted that a downgrade would result in a broad sell off of Treasuries and a corresponding increase in yields. These predictions proved to be wrong. The next trading day, August 7, the yield on the 10-year

Politicians have met the bond market. Legislators in Washington have spent lavishly for decades, and the bill is now due. Standard and Poor’s change in outlook for U.S. Treasury securities from “stable” to “negative” serves as a stark reminder that profligate spending has consequences. While fiat currencies can mask the ill effects of unchecked fiscal

The first quarter of the New Year has brought an astonishing sequence of global events. The horrific earthquake in Japan, the world’s fourth largest economy, has claimed at least 10,000 lives. Political uprisings throughout the oil-rich Middle East offer both promise and peril, but instability is the watchword. Domestically, states are struggling to address unprecedented

While the broader media has largely ignored until only recently the flaws inherent in Social Security, our parent organization, AIER, has consistently pointed to these deficiencies. In 1935, when Social Security first became law, AIER warned against the depressive effects of Social Security’s taxes. In 1939, the first of many expansions was enacted, prompting AIER

Retirees are facing perhaps their greatest financial challenge at any time since the Great Depression. Life expectancies are increasing, Social Security income may be curtailed, and traditional pension plans are disappearing. Seniors can no longer rely on positive real returns from traditional cash equivalent assets such as certificates of deposit and Treasury bills. Meanwhile current

As governments across the globe have adopted looser monetary and fiscal policies, investors alarmed at the prospect of higher price inflation have been asking us whether it would be wise to turn to the reputed “safe haven” of Swiss franc denominated assets or by investing more heavily in gold. AIER contends that consumer price inflation

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”— Sir Winston Churchill Retirees and investors approaching retirement face a low-interest rate environment in which future price inflation is a virtual certainty. The financial industry has responded with a confusing array of products intended to supplement the traditional

Beginning this month we will present hypothetical performance figures for our recommended portfolios on a “net-of-fee” basis. This change follows an internal review of our own procedures, which have always acknowledged that we published for two audiences, our readers and our advisory clients, who arguably are better served by results presented “gross of fees” and