Blog

06 Jul 2012 How Do You Define Investment Success?

Posted at 12:44h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

The financial services industry defines success quite simply in terms of returns – specifically by how much higher the winner’s returns are relative to all those others out there. With returns as the cornerstone of measuring success, the industry spends millions and millions of dollars bettering its methods of comparing the returns of investment choices, managers, and advisors in hopes that in selecting the best, their clients will be better served.

29 Jun 2012 Bright Spots

Posted at 12:27h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

News this week has been mixed, but there have been some bright spots to celebrate. The beleagured housing industry may finally be turning around. The manufacturing sector had a couple pieces of good news well. If you work in the White House or among the Democratic leadership, yesterday's surprising announcement from the Supreme Court that the President's health care bill had largely escaped overturn was undoubtedly a bright spot. And today we are greeted with news that Europe's leaders have found a way to avert a Spanish banking collapse.

15 Jun 2012 Uncertainty Continues

Posted at 11:29h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

US equity markets are off their May lows by about 4.5% to 5% depending on the index while economic releases continue to show the economy slowing. These reports and news from Europe and Washington's ambivalence over the approaching fiscal cliff all keep a pretty tight lid on short-term optimism.

08 Jun 2012 Why Do We Not Sell In Falling Markets?

Posted at 13:05h in Briefs about our Process, The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Last week's Brief discussed how markets have telegraphed or predicted, since April, the recent slide in equities. It raised a question from a few of you as to why we don't sell when we know stocks are going down? It is an excellent question deserving of a thoughtful answer, as it goes to the heart of our investment management philosophy.

01 Jun 2012 Treasuries Remain the Best Hedge Against Equity Risk

Posted at 17:28h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Europe is unraveling and signs are mounting that the global recovery is in jeopardy. A Chinese purchasing managers’ index showed manufacturing grew less than estimated last month in that country, the weakest production growth since December. Manufacturing, the stalwart of the US recovery, grew at a slower pace in May in response to weakness in the global economy. A similar gauge of manufacturing in the 17-nation euro zone fell to a three-year low of 45.1 in May. And unemployment in the US unexpectedly increased providing further evidence that the labor-market recovery is stalling.

24 May 2012 Why Greece Matters

Posted at 13:45h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Ancient Greece is known as the cradle of western civilization. But today, the bough on which it rests threatens baby, cradle and all. How does a country barely 3% of the Euro economy, ($318B compared to $425B for NC) with a population roughly the size of North Carolina's (10 million) threaten an entire global economy?

18 May 2012 Recovery Concerns

Posted at 10:33h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Stock market averages continued down for their third week to levels last cleared in January. The S&P average, which peaked 13% above its January 3rd open is now up only 3.8% trimming more than a trillion in market value in May. The Vanguard Total Market is up 2.4% year to date. Yields on the 10-year US Treasury have tumbled from about 4% just two years ago when Greece's debt crisis began to 1.73% today. The 7-10-year Treasury is up 21% (not counting interest) over the same period.

11 May 2012 I’m Not Speeding – I’m Qualifying

Posted at 13:24h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

A bumper sticker caught my eye this morning, and quite nearly my front bumper, as the car's driver inserted himself ahead of me. The sticker read "I'm Not Speeding - I'm Qualifying," an obvious reference to NASCAR, which was born in these parts. It occurred to me what a fitting description of market traders at today’s large banks, if not the banks themselves.

04 May 2012 Slowing Growth

Posted at 13:15h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Unless you are Lance Armstrong (or my son-in-law), as your bike slows down, balance becomes increasingly challenging. That's the picture of where our economy is now - its slowing and investors wonder whether we can stay up or fall back into recession.

27 Apr 2012 Debt: America’s Greatest Enemy

Posted at 12:32h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

So why is debt such at bad thing? Why all of a sudden is it bringing people and countries to their knees? It's not new, in fact it's been with us as long as money has. Debt can be a really great tool that allows us to buy more of a thing or to buy that thing much sooner than we could with only our cash. And there are some things we might not be able to buy at all without debt, like houses, roads, or college.