December 2, 2015
As we move into the holiday shopping season, we find ourselves deluged by catalogs, sales, advertising, and—in my case—impassioned pleas by my seven-year-old son for toys. Spending really doesn’t seem to be a concern, at least in terms of not enough of it.
November 27, 2015
I have shared this story before, but I think it's particularly enlightening at this time of year.
November 20, 2015
As we approach normal in the U.S. economy, I thought it would be worth taking a look back at the very real risks we have skirted over the past several years. One of the major drivers in the “disaster chic” commentary cycle, which I have written about many times, is to take a real risk and extrapolate current trends into disaster. This plays into a very human tendency to do just that, as well as a pessimism born of recent experiences during the crisis.
November 13, 2015
This will be another short post from Commonwealth’s National Conference—short because I want to get back to some of the great informational sessions this afternoon.
November 12, 2015
Today’s post will be a short one, as I am currently at Commonwealth’s National Conference in Washington, DC. I spent this morning working on a giving back project, which involved painting three different properties that provide shelter to homeless veterans in our nation’s capital.
November 11, 2015
The question that seems to be occurring to more and more people is, “Are we at a market peak?” It has been a multiyear bull market, stock prices have tripled from the base, profit margins have been at record highs for years, and now interest rates are going up. It’s not a crazy thought.
November 10, 2015
Starting tomorrow, I will be off to Commonwealth’s National Conference for the rest of the week. It will be a very busy several days, including a giving-back project, which is a Commonwealth tradition that we do at every event, leaving a place somewhat better than we found it; a birthday dinner for an advisor friend; multiple other dinners and functions; and, of course, my conversation with Ben Bernanke on Friday.
November 5, 2015
Whenever I’m asked about investing—whether the market is likely to go up or down, what sectors to look at, and so forth—there’s one question I always ask before responding: What is the desired time frame? In my view, time frame is inseparable from any kind of reasonable response.
I’m at an investment conference today and tomorrow, so I will just offer some quick thought on several topics that don’t really warrant a full post.
November 3, 2015
I’m working on my 2016 outlook right now—yes, a couple of months before it actually gets here—and am struggling to focus on what will be most important. Developing an idea about the future requires first identifying the most important issues, then making some decisions about how they are likely to evolve, and finally trying to tie them all together.
