Entries by Steve Booren

The Price of Promise

If we believe the headlines, an artificial intelligence revolution is upon us. For investors who experienced the dot-com boom, the vibe sure feels similar. But remember what human nature loves most: the chase. As history shows, it rarely ends well.

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The Certainty of Uncertainty

Remember that as investors, we are constantly on the precipice of uncertainty. We can never confidently know how anything will play out. No one can. So what should we do? With everything changing, we think we should be adapting. New circumstances require portfolio changes, right?

The Telltale Signs of a Market Crash

As a student of markets, I believe history is a roadmap for the future. The past may not repeat, but it certainly tends to rhyme. So when I came across “A History of the United States in Five Crashes” by Scott Nation, I was hooked.

The Bell-Bottom Billionaires

Being told in 1979 that two yet-to-be-founded companies would be worth more than the entire output of the U.S. economy would have sounded like science fiction. But this history offers a valuable reminder that the future is so big, it’s almost incomprehensible.

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History Over Headlines

Perspective is in increasingly short supply right now. Business news and market commentary is ever focused on urgency. But good investor behavior requires thinking long-term, staying grounded, and resisting the belief that daily market machinations are important enough to warrant changes.

Meeting Mr. Market

What would it look like to have a conversation with “The Market” (the embodiment of the S&P 500)? What knowledge might we learn from this nebulous thing if only we could ask it? Let’s find out.

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We Plan For This

Gut check: How have you been over the past month? When my last column was published a scant four weeks ago, markets were knocking on the door of all-time highs, and the overall feeling was one of cautious optimism. A lot can change in four weeks.

Safety in Numbers

As of December 31, the “Magnificent Seven” accounted for roughly half of the Index’s 2024 gain, according to CNBC. This has left many people wondering, are these companies deserving of this much capital, or is a bubble inflating America’s largest enterprises?

An Investment in Efficiency

The Trump administration is set to kick off a series of policy moves focused on, among many things, reducing government waste. It’s not surprising to see a renewed focus on our government’s and politicians’ extravagant spending, especially when some families struggle to put food on the table due to persistent inflation (which is arguably also […]

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We Planned for This

With the holidays rapidly approaching, I find late December is a great time for family, friends, festivities, and a little reflection. The end of 2024 marks an important milestone: The first quarter of this century is now behind us. If you’re like me, the turn of the millennium doesn’t feel that long ago, yet the […]

Debt Pulls Your Future Forward (at a Cost)

Japan has 140 businesses that are more than 500 years old — operating around twice as long as the oldest companies in the United States. Nineteen of their businesses claim to have existed since the first millennium. Let that sink in for a moment. From plagues to wars, natural disasters to collapsing economies, these ultra-durable […]