If you sold your stocks the Friday before Lehman went bankrupt, went to cash & stayed there you would have missed out on a gain of 93% — Ben Carlson (@awealthofcs) July 14, 2015 What I failed to mention in this tweet is that in order to earn that 93% gain, an investor would have…
Does CalPERS Need a Simpler Approach?
The following comes from the Los Angeles Times about CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension plan:
World Class Comedy or Investing: Are They Teachable?
“The stock market is an inexact phenomenon. Laypersons’ opinions often seem as worthy as professionals’, and shoeshine men and brokers compete for genius.” – Michael Steinhardt Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Harvey had an interesting conversation on a recent episode of one of my favorite shows, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, about whether comedy is something…
How to Retire Early
A reader asks: I am hoping to retire early and would be interested in your thoughts on early retirement, how to plan for early retirement and how to approach saving/investments in order to meet an early retirement goal. Harry Sit, who writes The Finance Buff blog, is someone who is actually at the point where…
Is International Diversification Worth The Risk?
The U.S. has the largest, most liquid financial markets in the world. We also have one of the most globalized set of corporations that make up our stock market. The S&P 500 now gets something in the order of 40% of its sales from overseas. Based on this information, I’ve been asked the following question…
Who Would Benefit From a Stock Market Correction?
Things are starting to get interesting in the markets. Over the past couple of weeks, there’s been a constant barrage of bad news coming out about Greece, China, and Puerto Rico. Then yesterday the New York Stock Exchange decided to have a “technical glitch” and shut down for a few hours. Regardless of whether this…
My Thoughts on Gary Antonacci’s Dual Momentum
In my previous post I took a look at why the momentum factor has worked historically in the markets. The past numbers are impressive, but there are some drawbacks, including high turnover, tax inefficiency, large drawdowns and high costs associated with momentum strategies. It’s also a fairly counter-intuitive approach to get comfortable with. Dual Momentum, a book by…
Why Momentum Investing Works
In a recent Q&A with Patrick O’Shaughnessy, I said the following when asked about the momentum factor: I’m a huge fan of the momentum factor, mainly for its diversification benefits. It’s also the least understood of the well-known risk factors. I’ve done a ton of work on momentum in my day job, but haven’t been…
Uncharted Territory in the Fed Funds Rate Cycle
It’s now been nine years since the Federal Reserve last raised the fed funds rate. The speculation grows by the week about when the first rate hike since 2006 will occur. Every economic data point that gets released is immediately put into terms about what it means for the potential for a rate hike.
Finance Twitter’s Reaction to This Week’s Jobs Report
Dissecting the monthly jobs report has turned into something of a Finance Twitter tradition. Once a month, the nonfarm payroll (NFP) numbers are released by the U.S. Department of Labor and the results receive as much attention in the finance community as the latest John Oliver segment gets from explainer journalists.
