“What’s the YTB?” an elder broker bellowed from the back of the conference room.

“5%!” responded the wholesaler.

“Sweet!” answered the broker, “I will sell your fund!”

I was attending one of my first branch meetings as a newly minted broker and had never heard the term YTB.  I had heard of other...

Shaw’s Cove is a beautiful slice of paradise located in Laguna Beach.   While growing up my friends and I spent most of our day at Shaw’s Cove.  We went to Shaw’s because Main Beach would get too crowded in the Summer time.  

We’d walk to Shaw’s equipped with three items: Boogie Board, snorkeling...

Fixer Upper is one of my favorite shows.  The chemistry between Chip and Joanna Gaines is fun to watch and what they do to a home is nothing short of a miracle.  Their mantra is to buy the worst home in the best neighborhood.  If you’ve watched the show, they’ve purchased some horrible homes.  At...

Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Holdings recently sold his position in Valeant Pharmaceuticals realizing a $4 billion-dollar loss.  Valeant peaked in July of 2015 at a price of $257.53 and is currently trading around $11.  From peak to trough Valeant lost 95% of its stock market value.   For Valeant...

We are nation in pursuit of balance.  We aim for a work life balance.  We try to balance our diet.  We balance our checkbooks. The tires on our cars must be balanced for a smooth ride.   It’s impossible to ride a bike without balance.  Scales must be balanced to get a true measure. 

Investors...

The stars were aligning for La La Land until the unthinkable happened.  Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway delivered the best picture category at the Oscars on Sunday Night and announced the winner – La La Land.   The crowd, along with a few billion-people watching around the world, were stunned to find...

On most mornings, I embark on a five-mile run with my dog Cricket.  Cricket is a five-year-old yellow lab who loves running.  Our morning ritual starts when I finish reading my daily dose of financial publications like the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Morningstar.   When I remove my glasses...

The battle between active versus passive investment management rages on.   The passive investment model is winning as billions of dollars pour into firms like Vanguard.   It makes sense as the passive model outperforms the active model most of the time.  In one study, 71% of active large cap money...

$4 trillion is a massive number.  Vanguard recently surpassed $4 trillion in client assets.  By comparison, the market cap of Apple is $710 billion.   Vanguard was founded in 1975 during the oil embargo recession and grew by putting the interest of their clients first, a novel concept on Wall Street...