If a tree falls in the woods does it make a sound? If a portfolio is consistent will anyone notice? Many investors claim to believe in asset allocation while maintaining a long-term outlook. Data shows otherwise. The 'buy high - sell low' approach has always been a bane to investors who let their emotions get [...]
For everyone who bashed us for this post we’ll now be “fair and balanced” (but not in the Fox News standard for those terms – ha!). Once again the following is factual and not intended as a swipe at any one person or political party. Once again we suspect it will be construed as such. [...]
The following info is factual. It isn’t intended to be a swipe at any one person or political party although we suspect it will be construed as such. That’s life in 2016. So be it. According to papers released by The White House President and Mrs. Barack Obama had $436,000 of income in 2015 on [...]
The recent release of the “fiduciary rule” from the Department of Labor is being hailed as a boon to consumers. Conflicts of interest in the retirement advice industry are supposed to be a thing of the best. But will they be? Many consumers seek guidance from a brokerage firm. You know them well – Morgan [...]
Earlier this week the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released new rules aimed at ensuring providers of retirement investment advice adhere to a fiduciary standard – that is, to put the best interests of clients first and above all. This may seem like an obvious point but as we wrote here many investors have no idea [...]
Years ago I was in the office of a friend and colleague who was purchasing tickets from Ticketmaster. He wished to take his young child to the circus. A fairly straightforward and common transaction. At the end of the call the Ticketmaster rep summarized the transaction. "The cost per ticket is $x including a convenience [...]
If you're a frequent reader of our blog (or, better yet, a client who's drank enough of the Apollo Kool-Aid!) then you know the importance we place on a long-term focus - on filtering out the noise. Why is it important? Because anything's possible in the short-term. Daily blips are a distortion. They blur the [...]
One of the most challenging things for many of us to grasp is that prices do NOT indicate value. Why do we use prices as the standard of value? Because prices are easy to understand. It’s the reason a 5-star fund is “better” than a 4-star fund, why a 5-star Uber driver is “better” than [...]
The folks behind Spotlight and The Big Short are teaming up to bring us the next Oscar-worthy film about investing: “Hiding Misconduct.” (OK, it’s a snarky joke but it makes the point. Isn’t that the goal of communication?) On a serious note the latest information on misconduct in the financial services industry offers a scathing [...]
Many ‘experts’ advise waiting until age 70 to claim Social Security benefits. The reasoning is sound on its face – the longer you wait the larger your monthly check. According to the SS Administration the following is how much of your full benefit you will receive depending upon the age you file: age 62 - [...]