From “Reinvesting When Terrified” to Investing Purgatory Investing expert Jeremy Grantham’s market calls have a funny way of being vindicated. In the 1990’s, he was early to sound the alarm about frothy tech and internet stocks. Too early. As a result, Grantham’s money management firm, GMO, hemorrhaged billions in investor withdrawals. What happened next? All the...Read More
2016 Presidential Election Aftermath Investors just got handed a classic lesson in not trying to anticipate “macro” events like elections: –Number of experts predicting Trump win: < 10 (anywhere on the planet. Maybe). –Number of experts predicting markets would go UP after Trump win: 0. Of course, it’s too soon to know whether markets will...Read More
The Timing Factor More than people would like to admit, there’s an element of luck involved in real estate. The variables include: •Whether your buying and/or selling coincides with housing market peaks or troughs (if you’re doing both, it matters much less). •What prevailing interest rates are — and what they’re doing just before you...Read More
Investing Theme Du Jour: “Dynamic Asset Allocation” As a result (I assume) of subscribing to The Wall Street Journal, I’m treated to a steady stream of junk mail pitches from various mutual funds, money managers, etc. The latest: a Boston-based firm that claims to deliver superior returns based on their prowess at “dynamic asset allocation.”...Read More
Should You “Just Get Out?” That was the most provocative question posed to Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist for Charles Schwab, at a conference call with investors earlier this week (I saw a taped version the next day). Her answer? “No,” because there are no accepted, reliable metrics for deciding: a) when to get out;...Read More
Sales Hyperbole “Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.” Is now “A GREAT TIME TO BUY A HOME?” Is it in fact, “THE BUYING OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME?” Search me. But I’ll say this: Realtors who are screaming those things (or statements like it) the loudest: a) don’t have a clue; and b)...Read More
