Fame is a funny thing. Some folks become legendary while others fade from memory. Some are famous for productive reasonswhile others are famous for no other reason than their fame. It seems the ebb and flow of time brings us wave after wave of predictions. Some are outlandish (lesbian stripper will be impregnated by Elvis then divorce Martian husband), some [...]
For quite a while Apollo has been working with our clients on increasing exposure to M&A Arbitrage. Not only does it prove a wonderful diversifier within the construct of our broadly diversified portfolios but the economic environment lends itself to increasing M&A and, thus, is an opportunistic "bet." The folks at Morningstar have hopped on the bandwagon. [...]
We all take risks. This is no surprise. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. We drive too fast. Sometimes we get where we're going in "less time." Sometimes we end up writing a check to the "police fund" via a speeding ticket. We drink too much. Sometimes that "I'll just have one more" glass of [...]
The rate on the benchmark 10 yr Treasury has increased roughly 100 bps over the past 2 months - peaking at around 3.5% before settling in at today's 3.33% yield. Some would argue higher rates will snuff out economic recovery. They would be wrong. Rates have been low for quite awhile and have done little [...]
Longtime friends and clients of Apollo Wealth Management know we are big fans of the team at Tweedy, Browne and their commonsense, value-conscious investment style. Their research-intensive operation shuns benchmarks, short-term performance and wholesale portfolio turnover. Instead their focus is on minimizing losses and providing positive long-term absolute returns. Equally appealing is they "eat their [...]
It's that time of year again. You've overindulged in Thanksgiving turkey, embarrassed yourself at the office party, spent four hours researching big-screen TVs and now you're ready to spend five minutes on your financial life. Step #1: Look at last year's to-do list. Step #2: Make excuses why none of it was addressed. Step #3: [...]
TAX CREDIT FOR CHARITABLE DONATIONS: A bill that would provide tax credits for charitable contributions has been stalled in the House since its introduction earlier this year. HR 4702 would let taxpayers take a credit of up to $1,000 for charitable contributions or opt for an itemized deduction. The bill has remained idle in the [...]
When Vanguard isn't promoting their interests by urging us to adopt the Vanguarding lifestyle (how long until they drop the terrible marketing campaign?) they're adopting the role of the parental figure - helping us temper our expectations about the direction of bond risks and returns. We're not trashing Vanguard. We love Vanguard. They have lots [...]
Is a bigger mutual fund a better performing mutual fund? Here's a look YTD returns showing how some of the largest funds are performing. (Link has since been removed from Morningstar's site.)
Longtime friends and clients of Apollo Wealth Management know we are HUGE fans of Marty Whitman and the people, philosophy and mutual funds of Third Avenue Management. This month marks the 20th anniversary of the flagship fund - Third Avenue Value. A brief summary of the founding and growth of the fund may be found here.