Hedge Funds: An Under The Radar CrisisAnd the real crime is this: investors as naive as the wet-diapered E-Trade spokesbaby can push a button and buy operational hedge funds more bizarre and sophisticated than any ever imagined buy the rich and famous. If an ETF harbors a hedge fund, but doesn't call it a hedge fund, is it really not a hedge fund?
Global Investors' Bill Of Rights May Prevent Economic Deja VuThe purpose of IBOR is to protect financial markets and to create self-sufficient investors who produce economic growth instead of government deficits. IBOR standards create transparent financial markets, regulate speculation, and protect retirement portfolios. Get involved.
Investment Performance Expectations: WCM Fine TuningHow can I get you to stop fixating on monthly market values and to focus on the purpose of the securities within the portfolio? Most of us are trained to deal with seasons, fashion trends, biological changes, waning sports dynasties, sunspots, etc. Instinctively, we expect, and prepare for change effectively--- but not when it comes to investing...
IGVSI Performance Expectations - WCM PortfoliosAll investors need to become intimate with both the content of their portfolios and the workings of the various cycles that impact on security market values. They need to expect, even anticipate cyclical changes in the market values of their securities by taking reasonable profits in either classification willingly, gleefully, and without hindsight.
Crisis Investing - Three-Pronged WCM StrategyUnfortunately, investors are a lot like teenagers. They know everything; expect instant gratification; take unnecessary risks; fall in love easily; ignore voices of experience; prefer the easy approach. Lessons of the past just can't apply to what's going on now. Duh, dude!
The Investment Gods Are AngryToday's obsession with short-term blinks of the investment eye is Wall Street's attempt to take the market cycle out of the performance picture. Similarly, total return hocus-pocus places artificial significance on bond market values while it obscures the importance of the income produced. WCM users will have none of it; the investment gods are angry.
WCM-Investing Rules Of Engagement-The QDICrash! The 2007 thru 2008 financial crisis halved 401(k), IRA, and Mutual Fund values in a matter of months. For many, retirement dates had to be pushed back; for others, new jobs had to be found. The tragic flaw? No income allocation in the investment program. Market value builds egos; income pays the bills.
WCM Investing - The ProcessMost people enter the investment process tip first. They hear something, grab an idea from a popular blog, accept a Cramerism or some motley foolishness, and think that they are making investment decisions. Rarely, will the right-now, instant-gratification, Internet-generation speculator think in terms that go beyond tomorrow's breaking news.
Investment Management - Put More Smart Cash In Your FutureIt's smart cash because it is created by the operation of the portfolio and ready for reinvestment. If it remains uninvested while new investment opportunities exist, it loses IQ points rapidly. If you've ever turned an unrealized gain into a realized loss, this is an approach you need to consider.
Making 401(k)s And IRAs More Like Pension PlansI'm not sure that the good doctor grasps the distinction between a self-directed, defined-contribution, investment plan and a guaranteed, defined-benefit, pension plan. Most plan participants are led to believe that the former is just as secure as the latter. Sorry, Charlie.
Wall Street Garage Sale Produces Closed End Fund BargainsBuffet, Bogle, Gross, Schwab, and Deep Pockets offer sound advice--- don't run and hide, it's time to hit the Wall Street Mall and go shopping! They've seen the indicators; they've been there before. So have many of you. Clearly, it's time for action.
The Securities Investors' Bill Of Rights (SIBORAP): Part ThreeWe the securities investors of the United States, in order to form more transparent financial markets, establish effective regulations, defend against destructive speculation and manipulation, promote financial well-being, preserve working capital, and protect retirement income...
Value Stock Market Crash ReportA cocktail of credit market laxatives is working its way into a constipated world economy. Relief is on the way. Today's prices may well be looked at as the lowest of the next ten years! Here's a list of things to think about or to do while Investment Grade value Stock prices are at ten-year lows:
Retirement Income Investing and Your PortfolioBrokerage firm monthly statements are designed to promote either fear or greed, depending on the current market environment. Nowhere on your statement can you find numbers that report your net investment, your total working capital, or your true asset allocation. Current and projected income numbers are given little attention
Last Bank Standing-The Wall Street Mega-CrashHow many more businesses, jobs, and hopes will be killed by this irresponsible Congress? When will the average blogger realize that when a corporation fails, we all suffer? One would think that the informed and enlightened could take time out from their texting for a little research and education.
Stock Market Meltdown - Watching Rome BurnScary markets are brought about by many factors, some normal, and some not so normal. It's often helpful to look backwards before getting too paranoid about the present. The S and L crisis of the early 80s might be an appropriate starting point.
Amazon Investment Book Reviews: Have You Been Brainwashed?Big publishers want to sell already big names; discovering new ones is not in their wheelhouse. Are they responsible for the problems in the financial markets? Of course not, but they do have a perverse, if indirect, impact--- they contribute to the brainwashing. Without a wider distribution of new ideas based on old wisdom, Wall Street as usual remains Wall Street as usual.
Retirement Income Investment Planning - Step OneEmployer provided pension plans, Social Security, and (always much too expensive) fixed annuity contracts, are retirement income providers. They are monthly income machines that you have paid dearly for but which may not be adequate to cover your retirement expenses--- most of us will need more income than our guaranteed benefits will provide.
Why 401(k) Retirement Plans Really Don't WorkAlthough it is true that you do not pay income taxes on your contributions up front, during your earning years, you will undoubtedly pay through both nostrils when you attempt to retire. If your parents have planned poorly, you may find yourself trying to retire at a time when the stock market is not in a party mood---
Income Investing: Go Ask AliceDon't let such uniformed thinking sabotage your retirement program; don't let the selfish advice of a product sharpshooter send you chasing rabbits when IRE (interest rate expectations) or other temporary market conditions shrink the market value of your income portfolio. Feed your head; feed---your---head.
Preventing Investment Mistakes: Ten Risk MinimizersLosing money on an investment may not be the result of a mistake, and not all mistakes result in monetary losses. Your own misconceptions about how securities react to varying economic, political, and hysterical circumstances are your most vicious enemy. Step away from calendar year, market value thinking. Avoid these ten common errors to improve your performance:
The Obama Tax Reform Plan For Long Term Economic Growth?Most economic research suggests that tax code replacement surgery is essential for long-term economic progress. The goal of my plan is to make sure that you are not grumbling ten years from now about the same things that trouble you today. This is a fifteen-point plan to end the cycle of economic frustration.
When All Stocks Are Value Stocks - Think QDIHow do we create a confidence building Stock Selection Universe? Simply operating on blind faith with one of the common definitions may be too simplistic, particularly since many of the numbers originate from the subject companies. Here are five filters you can use to come up with a listing of higher quality companies:
Quarterly Window Dressing - A Recurrent Wall Street ScamWhy aren't the wizards of Wall Street assuaging our nerves by explaining the cyclical nature of the markets and pointing out that similar crises have always preceded the attainment of new all time highs? Right, because the unhappy investor is Wall Street's best friend. Why can't politicians address economic problems with capitalist-economic solutions?
Volatility Rocks The Investment MarketsMuch of the current skittishness in the financial markets is caused by multiple economic concerns and the incredibly naive resolution ideas being spouted by the presidential candidates.
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