Newly appointed SEC Chair Mary Jo White has been busy. During recent House Financial Services Committee oversight hearings she was grilled over high frequency trading (also known as“HFT”, or “flash trading”), a controversial practice that has dominated the financial news. On another front the Commission has been tasked under the Dodd-Frank Act with “harmonizing” the […]

Since its founding, our parent organization, the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), has been dedicated to conducting independent, scientific, economic research to educate individuals, thereby advancing their personal interests and those of the Nation. American Investment Services, Inc. (AIS) was created in order to extend this mission specifically within the field of personal finance

As the New Year dawns, we find it hard to remember a time when troubling headlines were more pervasive. Many may wonder how the stock market, which is known to react swiftly to news, has once again reached a new high. The fact is, despite these disturbing developments U.S. capital markets have grown attractive relative

“When the siren song starts to waft toward you, lash yourself to the mast of broad-market investing.” — Ben Stein1 On Monday August 24, the stock market took investors on a wild ride; the S&P 500 tumbled by over 5% as the market opened, trimmed its losses to roughly 1% by the early afternoon, but

The AIS Model Portfolios table on page 52 includes revisions to our previous allocations, which have not changed for some time. Here we provide the rationale for those changes so that our readers can consider whether and to what extent they should modify their own portfolios in response. While we have changed the percentage allocations

In the current low interest rate environment many investors are “reaching for yield” by increasing their exposure to bonds with greater credit risk as a means of generating higher income or pursuing higher expected returns. Corporate bonds are an extremely valuable tool for managing risk, but caution is in order. For most individual investors, the

U.S. federal deficits and the growth of federal debt make for attention-grabbing headlines and compelling soundbites. Investors often hear that we are “burdening our grandchildren” with exorbitant taxes in the future, and inferences are made that a return to higher marginal tax rates will ensure a return to “the good old days” when current government

In a fiat currency monetary regime, capital markets are impacted immediately by any significant information suggesting the future actions of central bankers. World markets are especially sensitive to any news from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) regarding sentiments pertaining to its targeted federal funds rate (the interest rate at which banks

In mid-March yields on the sovereign debt of several euro zone nations turned negative. The notion of investors accepting negative interest rates may seem bizarre, but it is not necessarily irrational. Readers should not be alarmed or change their strategy should negative nominal rates persist overseas or emerge in the U.S. But it is important