The Gray Area of Good Investor Behavior
If you’re a frequent reader of this column, you know that I’m a large proponent of good investor behavior. Though I’ve spent a great number of column inches espousing the traits of investors I admire or those who have done well by adopting…
Improving Investor Behavior: The Peloton and Tiramisu
If you're like me, you exercise a lot. Maybe not every day, but you try to hit the gym most days. You sweat, you grunt, you grind it out, every session. Exercise does two things: it makes you hungry, and it gives you a sense of pride or accomplishment.…
Improving Investor Behavior: Show Me Where it Hurts
Even with a rising paycheck, people feel inflation. Whether it's the cost of a can of soup or the price of gasoline, everything feels (and is) more expensive. Inflation puts a dent in household budgets and a psychological dent in attitudes. While the U.S. economy may be booming, the smaller economy of household budgets and expenses takes a hit.
Improving Investor Behavior – Feeling Confident? Are You Sure?
I’ve contributed to the Denver Post monthly for a while now, and I’m grateful for readers who have reached out to me with thoughts, comments, and questions. Some about my writing, the market, and broader topics like the meaning of wealth…
Rising Dividends: The Ultimate Inflation Fighter
Two things should matter to retirees and near-retirees: income from investments, businesses, or social security, and how far that income goes to purchase goods and services. Taken in tandem, these elements will define the success of your…
Improving Investor Behavior – Deciding on Enough!
At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, the late Kurt Vonnegut informed his friend author Joseph Heller that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular…
Many Americans Face a Bitter-Sweet Early Retirement. What Should They Do?
He was sitting on a bus stop bench outside a tranquil park, wearing a khaki suit, checkered blue shirt and sneakers. A plain white box rested on his lap when he greeted a stranger and offered her a chocolate saying, “My Mama always…
Why Am I Here?
Why am I here?
Well, there’s an existential question for reflection.
I pose this question not to discuss the meaning of our lives, but instead to share why I chose to join Prosperion Financial Advisors and build a practice as…
Improving Investor Behavior: Where are all the Good Investments?
Read any financial website, and you'll find a common thread among the headlines: the market is overvalued. By several historical measures, the stock market appears to be ahead of itself. Valuations are high, and value-focused investors like…
Improving Investor Behavior: Sometimes Nothing is the Hardest Thing to Do
The United States has embarked on a historic economic experiment. Initially, $1.9 trillion was borrowed by our government to fund the American Rescue Plan (ARP). So far, the government has committed more than $5 trillion to support our nation…
Improving Investor Behavior – Progress and Perspective
Headlines would have you believe COVID has left Americans in financial tatters, but when looking at the broad data, I can't make the same conclusion.
Make no mistake, COVID and the resulting restrictions have left a great many people…
How Women Business Owners Can Save For Retirement And Reduce Taxes
Women are expected to live another 21 years after retiring at age 65––three years longer than their male counterparts. Despite this fact, women are shockingly ill-prepared for retirement, having fewer investments and less money saved on…
Intelligent Investing: Overcoming Inflation Using a Familiar Friend (Part 2)
For investors, inflation is the erosion of your money, a "cancer," if you will. It is the slow, subtle decline in what your money buys or the purchasing power of your money. Last month we covered what inflation is, how it works, and where…
Improving Investor Behavior: Understanding inflation, the cancer of retirement planning (Part 1)
One of the greatest challenges to retirees and investors alike is inflation. Not only is this principle often forgotten, but rarely understood. So let's discuss inflation: what it is, where it's been, and where it might be going in the future. How can you as an investor combat inflation over long periods of time, helping to ensure that the purchasing power of your money remains unchanged for years to come?
Why Do People Really Buy Gold And What Are The Alternatives?
Warren Buffet once said, “Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again, and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching…