Dec. 2019 – China Chatter
It’s hard to avoid news about China these days. Headlines daily involving trade and investing, military expansion, political repression…
2019
Nov. 2019 – Selling at the Top
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, …
Oct. 2019 – Zero Transaction Fees
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, …
Sept. 2019 Rate Inversion, the Economy, and the Stock Market
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 …
Sept. 2019 Rate Inversion, the Economy, and the Stock Market Read More »
August 2019 – Technical Trading
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 …
Jul. 2019 – A Trillion Here, A Trillion There
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 …
June 2019 – The SEC’s Efforts Fall Short
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 …
May 2019 – Trade Wars and Your Portfolio
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 …
Apr. 2019 – The Little Known Stock Market Guru
When most investors think about the great investors of all-time, names like Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and Benjamin Graham often come to mind. Lesser known is David M. Blitzer, whose record for more than two decades has topped the majority of common stock mutual funds. Mr. Blitzer, who will soon be retiring, has been at …
Mar. 2019 – Is Recession Ahead?
There is rising speculation in the media that recession is on the horizon. While we cannot say for certain what is coming, we can observe that media tend to amplify, if not exaggerate, the significance of newly released data. Fortunately for our readers our parent organization, AIER, has for decades published a consistent and dispassionate …
