It’s a straightforward question that usually evokes an immediate, reflexive, and emphatic YES! And when pressed to define what rich means, we likely respond in monetary terms. After all, money is how we describe and measure many of the things we value in our daily lives. But, unless we are careful, the logical progression is to be driven to become richer, or borrow, in order to buy more of the things we value and enjoy.

The beauty of the Olympics, their deep appeal, is what they reveal about the human spirit, whether in the 'thrill of victory' or 'the agony of defeat.' Under every colorful uniform there's a talented human being with a life-long story of struggles, challenges, hopes, dreams, and fierce commitment to be the best they can be. The medals of gold, silver, and bronze for which they compete are reward indeed, but they fall infinitely short of describing their accomplishments.

Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, are the most efficient vehicle yet devised to harness the returns of stock and bond indexes. They capture nearly all of the underlying assets' returns with little or no leaks of taxes, expenses, or under-performance.

In the last couple of Briefs we discussed Monte Carlo and how it can help a wise investor navigate the uncertainties that market swings create when they coincide with both large and small investment cash flows. We saw that wealth and lifestyle could be significantly impacted.