The most powerful committee in the House of Representatives is Ways and Means. Members of the caucus wield the most powerful instrument in the United States, the tax code. This past month Chairman Charles Rangel outlined what is being dubbed in many outlets as the “Mother of All Tax Hikes.” This is the largest individual […]
A new academic report by Professors Vikas Agarwal, Naveen Daniel and Narayan Naik entitled Why is Santa So Kind To Hedge Funds? studied the performance of hedge funds returns for the month of December. The professors looked at 7,535 hedge funds from 1994-2002 and what they found is in their words is a “December spike.” […]
One of the more popular items being sold on the free lunch/dinner seminar circuit is the equity indexed annuity. It is our opinion that EIA’s are a seriously deficient financial product. I do not even like calling it a product; it is more of a high fee/commission gimmick. According to an April 2 report in […]
So you bought into the hype. The slick talking hedge fund manager nailed you hook, line and sinker. You put up your money and hoped that the hedge fund manager was just a tenth as good at making money as he said he was. A year down the road, you get that gut feeling that […]
I am so popular. I get invited out to dinner to swanky French restaurants, the Ritz Carlton, and golf clubs by people I don’t even know two to three times a week It seems like every investment guru in the state of Florida wants to wine and dine me. The unfortunate reality is that I […]
There are very few financial commentators that have the ability to entertain as well as inform. One of my favorites is Mark Gilbert from Bloomberg News. Several months ago he used the innocuous world of bovines to eloquently describe several areas of the financial world that have become conspicuously popular. Here is our off-beat take… […]
I have noticed an increase in the volume of programs on sports networks that deal with the issue of who or what is number one, and why. “Who was a better quarterback? Montana or Elway or who was a better pitcher Clemens or Gibson?” This is a harmless and sometimes interesting endeavor that often makes […]
Do you want to know some interesting facts about market corrections and storms…? Especially this most recent one! 1. There has never been a correction in the overall market that has not proven to be an investment opportunity. 2. When positions are down in price, it can be difficult or painful to watch. However, if […]
AUGUST 2007 I don’t like being redundant: but I think it is a good time for a little reminder regarding some actions that need to be taking place in one’s portfolio in order to be successful. ASSET ALLOCATION Based on the ground-breaking 1986 study by Brinson, Hood and Beebower, more than 93% of long-term institutional […]