2017 Q3: Are we at the top?
Global Stock markets have extended the bull market run nine months into 2017. Bonds and real estate funds produced only modest returns. As we pen this letter every three months, we try to write to the issues we think are most on our clients’ minds. A common concern we hear is that the markets seems high, the bull market has had a very long run, there is lots of uncertainty in the world (political and otherwise) and, well, “when is this going to end?” The question of the hour is, “are we at a top?”.
Read More2017 Q2: Reversion to mean
In past letters, we have talked about reversion to the mean. In recent months, we are experiencing it.
Read MoreMay 2017: Two Truths About Stock Market Returns
There are two investment dictates you’ve certainly heard from us: Make sure that you are broadly diversified and stay fully invested. You understand that being broadly diversified across many stocks reduces your risk of being over-concentrated in one or a few stocks that risk suffering a poor fate. You also understand that, as much as we wish we could time the market by being in while it’s rising and out when it’s not, there is no crystal ball or proven reliable method for determining this correctly and consistently. Today we want to share with you a couple of extraordinary statistics about...
Read More2017 Q1: The Fiduciary Rule – Does it affect me?
We wanted to bring an important development in the financial services industry to your attention: The Fiduciary Rule. To put it briefly, the Fiduciary Rule is a regulation that requires advisors to act in their clients’ best interests. With the new administration, the rule has been delayed and there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty about its future. Whether you have never heard of it until now or are deeply familiar with it, we want you to be aware of what it is and understand our position on it. In the following pages, we have a Question and Answer piece to further explain the proposed advisor Fiduciary Rule and how it might affect you. If this raises any questions or you have comments, please let us know.
Read MoreFeb 2017 – Determining market direction related to average returns
Bestselling author Michael Lewis has another hit on the shelves, “The Undoing Project” in which he profiles the fascinating collaboration of two Israeli born psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky whose research, writing and teaching challenges the way we think. It points out the flaws of our mental wiring that were largely soldered into place thousands of years ago and haven’t caught up with modern realities.
Mr. Lewis’s compelling read had us going back to one of our favorites, Daniel Kahneman’s 2011 book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow”. Dr. Kahneman, a psychologist, was awarded a Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for the work he did in the field now widely known as Behavioral Economics. We used his thinking to take a look at the surprising gains of the stock market since the recent election.
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