20 May 2011

Posted at 14:48h in Briefs about our Process, The Friday Brief by
If you’ve invested long enough, it’s almost certain that you’ve been made to feel less than knowledgeable, either by your advisor (unwittingly, of course) or by ‘Mr. Market.’ People invest for as many reasons as there are people. Today’s Brief addresses the purpose of the vast majority of investors; that of saving to replace the paycheck. Some call it retirement, some call it freedom from salary, others refer to it as their second half, and still others call it doing what you really want to do, or were meant to do all along. Whatever you call it, it happens when you begin depending on your investments to see you through life, no longer relying on what is commonly referred to as ‘your day job.’ 

30 Oct 2009

Posted at 16:09h in The Friday Brief by
The US economy expanded in the third quarter, reversing a year-long contraction of 3.8% for the world’s largest economy. It was the worst economic performance in seven decades. As for duration, the four consecutive quarterly declines were the longest since quarterly records began in 1947. But in the third quarter, the economy came roaring back with a 3.5% gain, well ahead of the 3.2% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg news.

23 Jan 2009

Posted at 15:22h in The Friday Brief by
Good news on the economic front is rarer these days than moments of grace from our new Vice President. The lofty and idealistic words of President Obama, so well spoken seem a distant whisper among the barrage of history-making declines in housing, employment, prices, and confidence. Republicans and Democrats are already at loggerheads over the stimulus package. Corporate earnings are more dismal than expected and equities markets have given up almost two-thirds of their gains from lows reached in November.

30 Mar 2007

Posted at 15:04h in The Friday Brief by
The mood on Wall Street has been anything but spring-like. For the week, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials have dropped 1% and the Nasdaq Composite is down 1.3%. Today is the last trading day of the first quarter which will end relatively flat for the major indices. It was shaping up to be a pretty good one until investors got spooked The S&P 500 is up 0.3%, the Nasdaq is up 0.1%, while the Dow is down 0.9%. Thanks to diversification, our returns have fared better.