You’re not supposed to talk about religion or politics in the investment business. Your Survival Guy broke that rule on day one. I’ve always felt it’s important to know who you’re dealing with. The big firms try to play it right down the middle. They try to please everyone and no one at the same time. They don’t talk politics. Until now. And not on purpose. Let me explain. When the mutual fund industry rode index fees down to zero, they became victims of their own success. Suddenly, they needed a new way to skin the cat. Imagine the conference room discussions. “Bob, we need to get … [Read more...]
Search Results for: ESG
Are You Fairly Wealthy? I’m Listening
Did you catch the Sunday New York Times article on the supper clubs in Palm Beach? Look, Your Survival Guy loves Palm Beach, especially lunch at the Brazilian Court, but a supper club? Sounds expensive. But wait a second. When I started running the numbers, I thought, “Self, it could actually work.” That is, if it’s the right one. You don’t have to be an uber-wealthy billionaire to have a nice life. Look for more supper clubs to show up, especially away from super high tax states. Welcome to Florida. OK, you really can’t make up these headlines. Pension funds rethinking private equity … [Read more...]
DeSantis: Standing Up to Corporate Activism
Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, has taken to the pages of The Wall Street Journal's editorial section to explain why he fought back against Disney's corporate activism by stripping the company of its special treatment under the law. He writes: On Monday, I signed the law ending the Walt Disney Co.’s self-governing status over 43 square miles in central Florida, an area almost as big as Miami. Disney no longer has its own government. It has to live under the same laws as Universal Studios, SeaWorld and every other company in our state and is still on the hook for the old district’s … [Read more...]
Renewable Standards Forcing Americans into the Dark
One side effect of the Biden administration's misguided desire to eliminate fossil fuel consumption in America is that power companies are being forced to shut down fossil fuel powered electricity generation before there's enough renewable power generation to replace it. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board reports: The warnings keep coming that the force-fed energy transition to renewable fuels is destabilizing the U.S. electric grid, but is anyone in government paying attention? Another S.O.S. came Friday in an ominous report from PJM Interconnection, one of the nation’s largest grid … [Read more...]
Warning: Overnight Law-Abiding Citizens Are Now Felons and More…
As I wrote to you yesterday, big government is coming after you. Today, law abiding Rhode Islanders who own a gun with a magazine that can hold more than ten rounds are felons. Wait a second. What just happened? Last June, RI’s General Assembly passed a law banning all magazines holding more than ten rounds. The governor signed it into law. There was a six month grace period to turn in the “illegal” mags to local law enforcement (which, by the way, also makes you a target because they’re keeping records of those who turn them in, in case the law is overturned and you want them back). The … [Read more...]
You Invest, They Win: FTX Edition
Cryptocurrency speculators who trusted Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange ended up funding the alleged fraudster's political dabbling to the tune of $40 million in donations to mostly Democratic lawmakers. Now, FTX is trying to pay back as many of the people it owes money to as possible, and it wants politicians to return their donations. The NY Post's Paul Best reports: Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX, made upwards of $40 million in donations to mostly Democratic lawmakers and groups during the 2022 election cycle. FTX wants that money back by Feb. 28, warning recipients … [Read more...]
Biden Administration Destroying Retiree Fiduciary Protections
The Biden administration is undermining fiduciary protections created by the Trump administration to protect retirees from money managers who would use their wealth to push the radical progressive agenda rather than to secure the savers' retirements. Now, 25 state attorneys general are suing to stop the Biden administration. Keith Griffith reports for the Daily Mail: The Republican attorneys general from 25 US states have filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's plan to allow retirement fund managers to make 'socially conscious' investment decisions. The federal suit filed on … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive January 2023: Stacking Wood and Compounding Money
Dear Survivor, With Your Survival Guy’s kids home for the weekend, it was the perfect opportunity to stack another cord of wood. Living in New England, you never know when the next natural gas outage will come. I don’t like the chances it will be smooth sailing, and the thought of being without a source of heat while it’s snowing outside (got a dusting of snow last night) isn’t my idea of fun. “Mornin’,” I said to my son. “I got a cord of wood delivered. Do you want to help stack it after breakfast?” If you recall, after a summer of work a couple years ago, I helped him set up a Roth … [Read more...]
Keep It Simple: Work with a Fiduciary Who Has Your Back
Last week, Vanguard announced it was pulling back from the woke agenda targeting companies for their lack of dogmatic ESG adherence. Now, HSBC has announced it's going in the opposite direction. The bank has announced that it will stop funding any new oil and gas field developments. Charles Kennedy reports for OilPrice.com: In an update on its energy policy, the bank said, “We will no longer provide new lending or capital markets finance for the specific purpose of projects pertaining to new oil and gas fields and related infrastructure when the primary use is in conjunction with new … [Read more...]
Vanguard Does a U-Turn on Investor Activism
After receiving pressure from investors and others, Vanguard has announced that it will withdraw from the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative. Brittany Bernstein reports in National Review: Vanguard announced Wednesday it is pulling out of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an investment-industry effort to encourage fund firms to reach net zero emission targets by 2050. “We have decided to withdraw from NZAM so that we can provide the clarity our investors desire about the role of index funds and about how we think about material risks, including climate-related risks—and to … [Read more...]
Private Equity Burns State Pension Fund with FTX Investment
You have read for years that Your Survival Guy is worried about the risky bets being made by state pension fund managers who, after politicians overpromise and under-fund for state employee retirements, are left chasing performance to fill in the gaps. One way states have attempted to juice performance in pension funds is by allowing them to invest in private equity. The problem is that these investments are often riskier than what's available on public markets and don't always turn out well. Missouri is the latest state to find out that riskier investments in private equity can come back and … [Read more...]
Remember This from FTX Bankruptcy and You Can Thank Yourself Later
The fall of crypto exchange FTX is a brutal lesson in fear and greed. Not the fear of losing but the fear of missing out or FOMO. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBM) said this on the podcast “Odd Lots” describing how venture capitalists pick investments (highlighted by Jason Zweig in his WSJ column the “Intelligent Investor”): You get a bizarre f—ing process that does not look like the paragon of efficient markets that you might expect. [Venture capitalists] see what all their friends are chattering about, and their friends keep talking about this company…and they start FOMOing [feeling the … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive November 2022: Arriving in Style at Le Bristol Hotel, Paris
Dear Survivor, OK, so you want to go to Paris? Your Survival Guy is back from another three-week research trip, the second this year, and I have plenty to report. For one, Paris is open for business, big time, as travelers from around the world, (sans China) are moving about the country. As for Paris itself, especially in the service/tourism industry, it’s at maximum capacity based on the sheer demand post-Covid and lack of labor supply. There’s still a hangover from lockdowns and the reluctance of workers—still living off government payouts—to get back to work. Sound familiar? Now, … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy’s Hunkering Down in His Cave, Join Me
Happy Friday. What a trashing in the tech sector. Meta is off 70% year to date, Amazon is getting trashed this morning, and Apple’s earnings disappoint. Your Survival Guy can tell you my new iPhone 14 Pro is heavy and glitchy. iPhones account for half of Apple’s revenues. Seems top-heavy to me. When you look at the carnage of the so called FAANGs, you can see why investors are freaking out. Not Your Survival Guy. Slow and steady is a way of life. My life, at least. There’s no problem with getting rich slowly. I have no problem collecting dividends and interest when some investors find them … [Read more...]
Is All This Technology Actually Good for Humanity?
You may be wondering after Covid-19—a virus that was potentially made in a lab and terrorized humanity for over two years—if technology is necessarily good for humanity, and the world. Technology, in the form of nuclear weaponry, also threatens to end the world if Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin can't come to terms over some place most Americans have never been to or heard of called the Donbas. In The Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler gives his opinion of technology and its effects on humanity, writing: Lockdowns were a huge policy mistake. I blame Silicon Valley. I know, I know, the real … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive October 2022: Sink Your Teeth into These Bond Yields
Dear Survivor, “Red sky in morn, sailors take warn,” goes the saying. On this morning, the sun was as red as a lollipop, the kind that turns your tongue so red you want to show it to whoever’s next to you. Your Survival Guy heard it’s the dust, spun up from the wind, reflecting off the sun. Scientific American says it’s from the Bible (Matthew 16:2-3), attributed to a quote from Jesus. "When it is evening, ye say, fair weather: for the heaven is red. And in the morning, foul weather today for the heaven is red and lowering." Your Survival Guy’s 4 Ways to YOUR Wealth NOAA, not Noah … [Read more...]
What You Start to See Is a Death Spiral
Your Survival Guy is never surprised about these headlines during troubled markets. Here’s a beauty from yesterday in the WSJ, “Pension Strategy Left Funds Vulnerable to Rate Increases.” Apparently, pension managers were using leverage and collateral to hedge against rate increases, but when the collateral loses value, margin calls come a-knockin'. And like clockwork, when bad stuff happens, it always seems to be a surprise. State Pension Funds Brace for Private Equity Losses From the WSJ: Pension funds adopted the so-called liability-driven investment strategy, or LDI, to address … [Read more...]
How Long Will Your Pension Fund Last?
Retired public employees from California are suffering the ill effects of having their pension fund, CalPERS, the largest in the country, politicized. CalPERS has focused intently on using its influence in markets to achieve political goals, but now shareholders are getting upset with its lackluster performance. The Wall Street Journal's James Freeman reports: There is no such thing as a free lunch. Activists who think they can use public companies to pursue political agendas without endangering shareholder returns are indulging in a fantasy. Disappointing results at a giant government … [Read more...]
Sink Your Teeth into These Bond Yields
“Red sky in morn, sailors take warn,” goes the saying. On this morning, the sun was as red as a lollipop, the kind that turns your tongue so red you want to show it to whoever’s next to you. Your Survival Guy heard it’s the dust, spun up from the wind, reflecting off the sun. Scientific American says it’s from the Bible (Matthew 16:2-3), attributed to a quote from Jesus. "When it is evening, ye say, fair weather: for the heaven is red. And in the morning, foul weather today for the heaven is red and lowering." Your Survival Guy’s 4 Ways to YOUR Wealth NOAA, not Noah of the Ark, has a … [Read more...]
Credit Card Companies Eroding Gun Owners’ Rights
Until now, gun shops have been classified in the miscellaneous retail or sporting goods portions of the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) merchant codes. But, heeding the call of radical progressive Democratic politicians like Kathy Hochul, the ISO has created a segregated code for gun shops. You may be wondering why law-abiding Americans should have any of their purchases red-flagged in such a way. Your Survival Guy certainly is. The only answer appears to be, in the NRA's words, an erosion of "the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time." Kevin Haggerty … [Read more...]
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