Most markets have struggled during the months of October and November causing angst and worry among investors. Media commentators, reporters, and online personalities are bellowing from their pulpits about the pending doom in the markets and economy. If these experts were asked to help contain a fir...
The Wall Street Journal reported on a firm that went belly-up due to “bad bets on energy prices.” The firm, OptionSellers.com, sold options on future contracts and they suffered a “catastrophic loss” on their trading strategy.[1]
As a result of the firm’s trading losses, some of their clients lost...
At the beginning of each football season every NFL team has high hopes of winning the Super Bowl, even the Cleveland Browns. Enthusiasm and expectations are high.
During the 1970s the Minnesota Vikings were one of the most dominant football franchises in the NFL, winning 78% of their games from 196...
Tommy Lasorda once said, “The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second-best thing is losing in the World Series.” He added, “When we win, I’m so happy I eat a lot. When we lose, I’m so depressed, I eat a lot. When we’re rained out, I’m so disappointed I eat a lot.” Mr....
CNBC’s Fast Money is “America’s post-market show to bring you the actionable news that matters most to investors.” The panel of traders discuss stocks, ETF’s, options, and bitcoin. They talk in technical terms and use graphs and charts to highlight their main points. They sound convincing and make i...
A few months after the Great Recession a writer for a national magazine asked a simple question: “Did asset allocation models let down the individual investor?” I don’t think they did because conservative models lost less money than aggressive ones during the meltdown. In other words, the models per...
A diversified portfolio is always recommended. Balancing your accounts between stocks, bonds, and cash will allow it to grow with less risk than a concentrated portfolio.
A key metric to determine how well diversified your investments are is the correlation coefficient. It ranges from positive one...
Running a marathon with 30 or 40 thousand runners is chaotic – especially the start. When the gun goes off the crowd surges forward, so you better be ready to run or you’re going to get steam rolled. It’s pure emotion and adrenaline.
The first few miles are crazy as runners try to find a little run...
The stock market has been less than kind to investors these past few weeks. The Dow Jones has dropped 3.75% and the Nasdaq has fallen about 7%. Investors have reacted negatively to rising interest rates, mid-term elections, and a trade war.
When it comes to reaching your long-term financial goals,...
Several years ago, I met with a client who was retiring from his long-time employer. He wanted to purchase a basket of stocks for growth and income. We discussed mutual funds as an alternative to owning numerous stock positions. He wasn’t aware that mutual funds could own stocks. I informed him that...
Nebraska Football has a storied history. It’s regarded as one of the best football programs of all time. Since 1890 they’ve won 893 games, more than all but four schools, and claimed five National Championships: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. Three of their players have won the Heisman Trophy: Jo...
When my daughter was young we read The Monster at the End of This Book starring Grover from Sesame Street. He’s convinced there’s a monster lurking at the end of the story. He’s so sure of this that he pleads with the reader to not turn the pages. When the pages are turned he panics and freaks out,...