Particularly in times of extreme volatility, pundits come out of the woodwork to “explain” to the rest of us the reasons underlying the rise or fall of the stock market. For example, how many times have you seen articles attributing recent market declines to a drop in oil prices? I suspect if you polled investors,…
It’s sad that terrible advice is so freely dispensed in tough times. Investors are at their most vulnerable, reeling from the market selloff. Many in the financial media see this as an opportunity to boost ratings and generate revenue for the big brokerage firms that support them with huge advertising budgets. They seem indifferent to…
2016 Roadmap For Dealing with Stockbrokers Read the rest of the article at The Huffington Post.
I agree with the glowing reviews of The Big Short. The film does a wonderful job of exposing the mendacity of the financial industry and the role it played in almost causing a worldwide economic collapse. Its depiction of Wall Street as infested with greed, devoid of ethics and indifferent to the real-life consequences of…
I don’t know Warren Buffett. I didn’t interview him for this article. But I’m pretty sure I know what he isn’t doing to cope with the worst first four trading days in history for the S&P 500 index to begin a calendar year. Buffett isn’t listening to pundits on TV The financial media loves market…
I remember feeling repulsed when I first read that Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of its proprietary drug, Daraprim, by 5,000 percent. This increase caused the price of each pill to go from $13.50 to $750. At the time, I did some research on the disease that Daraprim is prescribed to…
I write about investing, not politics. By invoking Donald Trump as an example, please understand that I’m taking no political position. That said, there are some surprising lessons you can learn from Trump about investing. Here are two of them: The power of indexing While the exact amount of Trump’s wealth is subject to debate,…
I don’t want to rehash all the reasons for my view that investors should avoid actively managed funds, expensive, complex investment products and “alternative investments” like hedge funds and private equity. If you find these investments suitable, you have every right to buy them. Special issues with 401(k) plan participants Employees with 401(k) plans, however,…
It seems like almost every week a new study appears to debunk the myth of active management. This week was no exception. Robin Powell, a U.K.-based journalist and financial blogger, discussed a recent study that covered 561 U.K.-based stock funds between 1998 and 2008. The study’s findings were consistent with similar research done on funds…
The current controversy over the proposal by the U.S. Department of Labor to impose a fiduciary standard on those who advise retirement plans has little to do with the rule’s merit. Rather, I believe it’s at issue because stockbrokers are the beneficiaries of a cozy system that permits them to have conflicts of interest which…
While it’s a low bar, Bloomberg TV always seemed to me to be the best of the financial media. Its anchors are professional and knowledgeable. Its coverage is broad and responsible. It avoids the hype and sensationalism typical of many of its competitors. Bloomberg recently launched a new morning program, Bloomberg Go. It features some…
I had an interesting experience recently. I gave a talk to a group of investors. In the audience were a few brokers. My presentation consisted of two basic points: 1. Send an email to your broker or financial advisor and ask them simply to confirm that they will always put your interests above their own…
Ken Griffin is a hedge fund manager with an enviable net worth of $7 billion. According to published reports, he recently settled a contentious divorce dispute with his wife, Anne Dias Griffin, shortly before it was scheduled to go to trial. There was a lot at stake. His wife claimed Griffin earned an unbelievable $100…
Last week, I wrote about an experience I had with a broker who took offense at the use of the term “broker” in a talk I gave to a group of investors. I found that odd because he is employed by a large brokerage firm. So I asked what he wanted to be called, and…
If anyone could demonstrate expertise in “beating the market,” you would think it would be hedge fund managers. They get paid hefty fees (often 2 percent of assets under management plus 20 percent of profits) to generate “alpha.” Successful hedge fund managers make obscene amounts of money. The top hedge fund managers earned in excess…