We are probably all subject to becoming excessively overheated or dismayed at the antics of our elected officials. Politics can lead to highly emotional reactions, and that’s probably OK, for the most part. Investing is a very different story. Successful investing requires an analytical approach and an unemotional assessment of the potential investment’s value proposition. … Continued
Michael Lewis is famous for his books about the financial industry such as Liar’s Poker and The Big Short as well beautifully written stories like The Blind Side and Moneyball. He is an engaging person who has proven time and again he has great insights into human nature and the world of finance. This time … Continued
Yesterday we launched our new website. Please take a look and tell us how you like it. Special thanks to Tamika Hall for spearheading this effort and to Chris Frayne and Marisa Lenhard for their countless hours devoted to content. Finally, it is never ready until compliance weighs in – thank you Shari Bilkie! Bob Bilkie, … Continued
Through years of working with individual investors I often heard comments such as “Oh, my broker doesn’t charge a fee for managing my assets.” It sounds like a bargain at first, but if you dig deeper, you will discover that brokers are being compensated through various fees (some obvious, some not) including commissions from trading … Continued
In early February a high level departure of the CEO of PIMCO Investment Management, Mohamed El-Erian, was announced. As some may know, PIMCO is one of the largest managers of fixed income mutual funds in the world, with $2 trillion under advisement. The story of El-Erian’s departure revealed a very peculiar – maybe more aptly … Continued
Five years ago this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated to its low of 6,547.05. Think about that. Undeniably, the economic outlook at the time was perilous. Concerns persisted long after that dark day in March of 2009. One year later, I was speaking at the MENSA annual gathering and my presentation was titled, … Continued
Wikipedia defines “the path of least resistance” as the physical or metaphorical pathway that provides the least resistance to forward motion. This can also be used to describe certain human behaviors and is often used as a metaphor for avoiding personal effort or confrontation. We see this every day. For example, in the criminal justice … Continued
Bitcoin. All comments and questions are welcomed. Bob Bilkie, CFA
The Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) has triggered a significant increase in discourse on the issue of “health insurance”. This may be something of a misnomer. Wikipedia defines insurance as ”the equitable transfer of the risk of loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment”. Let’s look at some familiar examples, auto, home and … Continued
Energy is a key cost consideration for many businesses. Natural gas is generally considered to be the least worst of the widely available fossil fuels. Thanks to new technologies, the U. S. has an abundance of natural gas at very attractive prices. Natural gas can be easily and economically transported by pipeline. However, ocean transport … Continued
In finance, the efficient market hypothesis asserts that financial markets are “informationally efficient” and reflect the available information. Sometimes it is difficult to completely discern what the markets actually know. Consider the cruise industry and Norovirus. Norovirus is a very contagious virus, it is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the U. S. … Continued
There has been a debate of long standing between recognized economists as to whether unemployment benefits and other programs are an essential safety net or an incentive to “choose” not to work. While this remains complicated and controversial, a recent report from the CBO, Congress’s official score keeper, suggests that Obamacare will cause approximately 2.5 … Continued
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