Back in 2002 The Wall Street Journal ran a provocative piece: “If TiVo Thinks You Are Gay, Here's How to Set It Straight.” The clever title aside it was an interesting look at the way advertisers use the information we voluntarily provide. Today TiVo may be as fashionable as carbon paper but the premise remains [...]
Generally qualified retirement accounts such as pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs offer good and meaningful protections from creditors. Traditionally under federal bankruptcy laws (states offer varying levels of protection) up to $1.25 million in an IRA has been protected from creditors. A 2014 Supreme Court ruling, however, reduced the protections afforded if the funds are held [...]
Do you know how much income tax you pay? Whatever the amount it surely feels like too much, right? And what of this 'fair share' nonsense? Just who is paying America’s tax bill? The latest figures from the IRS (based on data from 2012 tax returns) show that 136 million tax returns were filed. That [...]
In economics we define a transfer payment as a payment made without reciprocity of goods or services. In layman’s terms they’re handouts. The nature of transfer payments is why most Americans abhor programs such as welfare and unemployment. We’re a caring people but we also believe in fairness. We work hard for what we have [...]
In many ways technology has lowered the cost of service delivery. For a nominal cost the friendly automated voice of the credit card company allows us to “press 1” to find out our balance. Similarly we can contact a customer service rep halfway around the world when we need to speak with someone. The question [...]
Arguably the greatest invention of the last 1,000 years is Gutenberg’s printing press enabling the rapid dissemination of information and subsequent enlightenment of the many and far away. If true then in a similar fashion arguably the worst inventions of the last 1,000 years are things like Twitter and Facebook. To paraphrase an old reporter’s [...]
At Apollo our investment strategies have always included a focus on minimizing risk. There are many tricks to the trade. One we’ve used consistently throughout our 20+ years of advising clients is the inclusion of Merger & Acquisition Arbitrage (“M&A Arb”) in the construction of asset allocations. In its simplest form M&A Arb strategies are [...]
The annual arbitrary ritual of making resolutions is nearly upon us. Sometimes we succeed. Most times we fail. Want to make ‘em stick? Give these a try. Happy New Year!!
Inherent in most tools is their neutral nature. They’re neither good nor bad. It’s how they’re used that determines their effectiveness. Use a hammer to build a birdhouse and it’s a “good” tool. Use it to bash in your neighbor’s skull and it’s a “bad” tool. Tools also come with a multitude of features. Again [...]
Despite the fact many Americans fear they won’t have enough money to retire a full 42% (sadly that’s not a typo) don’t invest according to a recent survey by GetRichSlowly.org. And why would they? Investing would get in the way of buying those Disney on Ice “Frozen” tickets purchased using the latest iPhone which for [...]