The World’s Fair took place in Chicago in 1893. It occurred during one of the worst economic panics of that century when economic activity fell almost 40% in a little less than two years from the combination of railroad bankruptcies, a run on the gold supply, and a banking collapse. But the economic backdrop didn’t…
Animal Spirits Episode 38: Half the Population
On this week’s Animal Spirits with Michael & Ben we discuss: The recession signal everyone is talking about. Is the historical playbook for an inverted yield curve too easy? The case for investing in bonds. How many Americans have an emergency savings account? Will half the population live in just 8 states in 20 years?…
Are SUVs Ruining Retirement Savings?
Here’s something I didn’t realize people have such strong opinions on: I couldn’t believe the number of responses, DMs, texts and emails I received from this random tweet I sent last week (mostly telling me the exact make and model I should get). There were plenty of solid ideas and advice such as: Never buy…
The Case For Reading Fiction
I saw a meme floating around social media recently that read: LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO READ FICTION I disagree. I probably read more non-fiction than fiction but here are a few reasons why I like to balance things out with a little of each: Storytelling is important. Sociologist Murray Davis wrote a research paper in the…
“The market is rolling simply because it’s rolling”
“This market is rolling simply because it’s rolling.” I love learning about market history but often times you’re reading a historical account which was pieced together many years after the fact. I like reading what people were thinking and feeling at the time to get a sense of how investors handled their business in the…
Concentration in the Stock Market
CNBC had a piece this week that looked at how top heavy returns in the stock market have been this year. They showed 3 stocks — Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft — alone make up more than 70% of the gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes: When you include Apple, Google (I refuse to…
Animal Spirits Episode 37: Ring the Bell
On this week’s Animal Spirits with Michael & Ben we discuss: Implications from the trade war. Why it’s so difficult to trade based on economic uncertainty. Tech IPOs are so hot right now. The consumer balance sheet is in surprisingly good shape. Household net worth is breaking out in an uptrend. Housing is relatively affordable these days…
Are You Sure Your Investments Appropriate For You?
At our EBI West Conference a couple weeks ago in Dana Point, CA, we were treated to a chat between Ken Fisher and Barry Ritholtz. Fisher talked about how he built his firm, Fisher Investments, into one of the largest RIAs on the planet, now managing upwards of $100 billion. If you don’t know who Ken…
Something I Changed My Mind About Recently
Now that everyone and their brother has a podcast I’ve noticed some of the lexicon making its way into everyday life. I’ve gotten a few of the following questions more than once in recent years: If you had to put one sentence on a billboard what would it say? What advice would you give your…
The Four Stories Written About Fund Managers
There are really only four different stories that are written about fund managers: The huge success story The huge fund failure The redemption story The can’t-figure-out-what’s-wrong story John Paulson was the huge success story coming out of the financial crisis. Fund failures seem to occur on a regular basis, especially in the hedge fund community…
