My goal for you with my monthly RAGE Gauge is to provide you with a quick reading of how risk is being perceived right now—how risk is being interpreted. In my line of work, there is never enough attention given to downside protection—keeping what you have—too much energy is wasted thinking about keeping up with the other guy. In that world, the grass is always greener because of: How much “they” have, where their kids go to school, what they do for a living, and where they live. “They,” take up an enormous amount of energy. A more efficient use of energy focuses on what you do to … [Read more...]
The Truth Behind the S&P 500: Part IV
This is the time of year when you need to be extra careful about what you invest in, especially when you’re buying a so-called passive index fund that tracks the S&P 500. I have many concerns about the S&P 500 index approach, as I point out here, here, and here. Add one more issue to the list: “Passive” investors paying for someone else’s actions. Recently, the PNC S&P 500 Index Fund announced it will pay out $4.19 in cap gains per share, as pointed out in by Jason Zweig in his weekly WSJ column The Intelligent Investor. “This week, the fund’s per-share value was around … [Read more...]
You’ve Read the Last Issue of Intelligence Report: Back to Investors Yield: Part II
“Well I remember the mood of euphoria that gripped the stock market back in the holiday season of year-end 1965,” writes Dick Young in his September 1987 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report. “I had just entered the investment business and was a broker at a Boston based member firm of the New Your Stock Exchange. It was an exciting period. The market had climbed by nearly 50% in a three-year period end 1965, and investors were spending their profits literally before they were booked. It was a period of casino mentality—no one could lose. The party ended with a thud, and the … [Read more...]
You’ve Read the Last Issue of Intelligence Report: Back to Investors Yield
“Well I remember the mood of euphoria that gripped the stock market back in the holiday season of year-end 1965,” writes Dick Young in his September 1987 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report. “I had just entered the investment business and was a broker at a Boston based member firm of the New Your Stock Exchange. It was an exciting period. The market had climbed by nearly 50% in a three-year period end 1965, and investors were spending their profits literally before they were booked. It was a period of casino mentality—no one could lose. The party ended with a thud, and the … [Read more...]
The Market for Quarterbacks Looks Bullish to Me
As you can see below, it’s good to be a quarterback in the NFL. Here are some of the top NFL salaries at quarterback position this year: It will be interesting to see what type of contract the 49ers offer former Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppollo. Keeping him on the Patriots' roster, in the end, was too expensive—to the tune of twenty some odd million dollars a year—to wear a headset. OverTheCap.com's Jason Fitzgerald (as pointed out by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) believes that the 49ers will likely get Garoppolo for around $21 million next year which is what Brock Osweiler got … [Read more...]
What the Tax Cut Means to Me? The Swamp is Alive and Well
So much for that tax cut we’ve all been hoping for—it looks like the swamp in Washington is alive and well. If this is a tax-cut for the rich, imagine what a tax increase would look like. Don’t get me started. And for all those saying this is a tax cut for the rich, well, the last time I checked you need “money” to get a tax cut—too many Americans have no skin in the game. Americans who I work with—the successful Americans like you—are either still working and saving for retirement, or are already retired and could use a break. Couples in their 50s saving for retirement? Ha! Finally, … [Read more...]
Do You Know Dick Young’s Investment North Star?
As more money piles into stocks, there’s never been a better time to get acquainted with Dick Young’s investment North Star, the Treasury bill. Backed by the full-faith credit pledge of the United States government, the T-bill is your risk-free rate of return. See the chart below, and roll your finger, left to right, from the mid-80s to today. Do you see a problem with today’s investment environment? It’s a lot different from when Dick Young began writing to you, as I explain when you click on the chart link above. … [Read more...]
The Truth Behind the S&P 500, Part II
The S&P 500 is perhaps the largest “managed” fund in the world. Contrary to widespread belief, it is not an index of only the largest companies in America by market-cap as I explain here. It is an index comprising 500 stocks that are actively chosen by a committee. The committee, led by economist David Blitzer picks 500 stocks from a listing of 1,000 of the largest companies in America. It also decides the sectors and the sector-weightings. In the late 90s, for example, when technology was on fire, the committee finally decided to make technology its own sector. The committee had … [Read more...]
The Truth Behind the S&P 500
Let’s get a few things straight about the S&P 500. First, it’s a market-cap weighted index of large-cap companies based in the U.S. A company’s market cap is calculated by multiplying its shares outstanding by its stock price. The bigger the company’s market-cap the bigger its influence on the direction of the S&P 500. Imagine Apple or Amazon as the 800-pound gorillas and you get an idea of how the index works. How is it constructed? The S&P 500 is not a collection of the largest 500 companies by market cap in the U.S. It is constructed and managed by a committee. Part of the … [Read more...]
Paris: A Checklist before You Leave
Take it from me, there’s a lot that can be forgotten before you leave on your trip to Paris. For example, if you use a debit card, you don’t want to forget to call your bank or credit card company to let them know you’re going to be out of the country. If you’re used to using American Express, realize it’s not accepted by some merchants and brasseries. It was embarrassing when our waiter told me, after our first meal, that my credit card was rejected. This was especially embarrassing since my father-in-law, Dick Young, asked me with a grin, “Aren’t you the survival guy?” With that in … [Read more...]
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