Not too long ago, a client came to me with an interesting idea for a blog. The client asked (paraphrasing), “how does WHEN I get started as an investor in stocks, affect my experience as an investor?” We intuitively know it has some effect. Today’s younger investors (which I can count myself a part of) who started investing after the 2008 recession only know a stock market that goes up.... READ MORE

Recently we wrote a blog covering the signs of inflation we are currently experiencing and defining the type of inflation this could ultimately lead to. All of that is summed up here. This WJ Notes is the Part II to the blog and is going to cover how inflation will ultimately affect the portfolio, and what we can do about it. We recommend reading the first part in order to have a better... READ MORE

Although most of the focus has been on stocks lately, it is bonds that have arguably had the more interesting year. Interest rates (which we will use the 10-year treasury yield to represent) have been climbing rapidly, starting the year from about 0.9% to 1.52% today. This often neglected number is extremely important. It represents the cost of money. Where the 10-year rate sits influences the... READ MORE

One of my favorite events each year is the “CFA Annual Forecast Dinner” that takes place every January. At this dinner, there is an array of professionals in the money management business who get the chance to “talk shop” and reflect on what happened in the previous year and how they navigated that environment. In addition, they usually have a few high-profile guests that are invited to... READ MORE

As 2020 winds to a close, you will notice the typical barrage of articles being sent out explaining what happened this year and predicting what’s going to happen next year. Typically, it’s best to ignore these as just noise (Spoiler alert: none of the end of year 2019 articles had pandemic on the prediction list). However, the end of the year does provide a good opportunity to reflect on what... READ MORE

I've written several posts about how difficult it is for companies to remain at the pinnacle in terms of market capitalization. It is not likely the current big winners like Apple, Google, Microsoft will be at the top a decade or two from now. Jason Zwieg addresses the issue in a recent article entitled " Apple Still Wears the Mark Crown. It Can Easily Slip. " The following is a quote from the... READ MORE

One of my favorite financial writers is an anonymous researcher who goes by the pseudonym, Jesse Livermore. The real Jesse Livermore was a pioneer of day trading in the early 1900s, whom at one point became one of the richest men in the world but ended up taking his own life when he lost everything. Little is known about the current writer who uses his name today. He only writes a couple pieces a... READ MORE

Twitter Source: Joachim Dressler (@thevolawatcher) You don’t drive looking in the rear-view mirror and you shouldn’t invest looking backwards either. The largest, most valuable stocks now will not be the same in ten years. Today those stocks are confusingly known as FAANGM (an acronym for Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google and Microsoft). We might also include Tesla so FAANGMT. These... READ MORE

Every week, we read a TON of information. Blogs, articles, research papers…it’s our job to be informed about what’s happening in the market, economy, and society in general. Most people don’t have the time to sort through so much information, so we’ll do it for you. Every week, I will post some of the best charts, graphics, tweets, etc, that I find and put it here in a quick, digestible... READ MORE

  Every week, we read a TON of information. Blogs, articles, research papers…it’s our job to be informed about what’s happening in the market, economy, and society in general. Most people don’t have the time to sort through so much information, so we’ll do it for you. Every week, I will post some of the best charts, graphics, tweets, etc, that I find and put it here in a quick,... READ MORE