I have just been reading some predictions made by various people over the years that have been, how shall I say this, less than 100% accurate. It would seem that seeing into the future is a power that humans don’t generally possess. If you desire proof, or perhaps need a laugh, I suggest that you enter “failed predictions” into your internet search… Read more →
Category: Investing
A Tale of Two Clients, Some Other Stuff, and a Thanksgiving Prayer.
Do you remember how it felt to be a common stock investor during the last 5 years of the 20th century? It felt good. Very good, in fact. The total return of the S&P 500 stock index was 26.39% per year from January 1st, 1996 to December 31st, 1999. Every investor was a stock picking genius. People retired early. One… Read more →
A bit about the 3rd quarter, 2014 and some optimism.
Asset management clients of Financial Planning Associates, Inc., your preliminary third quarter asset management reports have been posted to your secure web folders. As the table below indicates Read more →
A book report and some thoughts concerning employment and inflation.
Following below are several brief excerpts from the book, The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, professors at the MIT Sloan School of Management. In this book the professors discuss some of the significant benefits and challenges associated with the advent of artificial intelligence. I will insert… Read more →
Today’s quiz, longevity insurance, three books and the new website.
Today’s quiz has to do with asset category returns. The first decision an investor must make is choosing what to invest in. Stocks? Bonds? Real estate? Gold? Futures contracts? Persian rugs? Pork bellies? Several large studies have found that the investor’s answer to the question of which asset category, or categories to invest in is of major importance, likely the most… Read more →