The current retirement system leaves much to be desired. There are a decent number of people taking advantage of tax-deferred savings vehicles but it’s a fairly small number that ever reaches millionaire status in these accounts. In Fidelity’s defined contribution plan, there are roughly 157,000 people who have saved at least $1 million in their 401(k)….
Arguing With the Yield Curve
We touched on the yield curve on this week’s Animal Spirits because it seems to be the main point of contention in the markets right now. It’s all any of us market nerds can talk about, partly because the markets are somewhat boring this year and partly because investors love to try their hand at predicting…
Surrendering to the Charms of Magical Thinking
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…
