The Retirement Field Guide

Hi there folks. It’s been quite a while since I posted anything new here. Some of you have probably forgotten you even subscribed. Anyhow, I had a thought I wanted to share with you regarding much of the government-infused capital into our economy over this past year. But first, a prelude. The primary reason many investors shun equity investing is the perceived risk associated with equities. For what it’s worth,… Read More

Recently, I’ve gotten a number of questions regarding cryptocurrency of late. So, for today’s post, I will attempt to explain bitcoin since they are getting so much press these days. I will illustrate the various pieces of this prominent cryptocurrency using the board game Monopoly as a basis for comparison. Let’s get started. Bitcoin: The Creation of the Rule Book Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto in January 2009. There… Read More

Seth Godin writes a daily blog and he recently wrote the following. (Apologies for basically quoting his entire post.) “An abundance of caution. Lawyers are fond of this. And sometimes, parents are too. At least you won’t get blamed if something goes wrong. It turns out that we don’t need an abundance of caution. We need appropriate caution. They’re different things. Abundant caution is wasted. Things like ripe avocados and… Read More

There is this pervasive idea in the financial advisor industry that everyone should be “optimizing” their financial strategies. This buzzword is marketed as hugely valuable such that every person should want it. It’s a differentiator for financial advisors and it encourages the feeling of FOMO if people somehow miss the boat. Once something goes completely mainstream, it’s my nature to question whether it’s all it’s cracked up to be. Mark… Read More

Over the past three years or so, I have written about 200,000 words or so on the topic of investing. As I cross into year four of this little site, I have noticed a disconnect that I believe causes investors to make more poor decisions than just about anything else. That is, the language we use. Maybe you have noticed that I almost never use the word “stocks” when I… Read More

In the movie “Soul”, they tell a story about a fish. A fish swims up to an older fish and says, “I’m trying to find this thing they call ‘the ocean’” “The ocean? the older fish says, “That’s what you’re in now.” “This?” says the young fish. “This is water. What I want is the ocean!” Admittedly, I am like this fish all the time. Always searching for what’s next…. Read More

The concept of “behavioral investment advice” is esoteric because, generally speaking, the only people who know the true value of what it can offer to investors are the advisors who have witnessed first hand the value of said advice. Generally speaking, people who believe advisors are a sham or are overpaid or whatever negative connotation they want to attach can’t accept a value proposition that seems completely intangible on the… Read More

In 2020, we ran a $3.7 Trillion deficit. That’s Trillion, with a capital T. Also in 2020, the inflation rate was estimated to be 0.62%. The current 10-year Treasury Note yield is 1.117%. What will happen in the decades to come is anyone’s guess. Will we end up with negative rates as so many countries have or will interest rates rise? Will inflation stay ultra-low or begin to creep up?… Read More

For the last 13 years, growth stocks have outperformed value stocks by a comfortable margin. Prior to that period, value stocks had outperformed for decades. With the shift in the tide toward the end of 2020 (when value finally outperformed again) the question begins to loom: “What should you own for what lies ahead?” The answer to that question is, “Yes.” There is no shortage of people who are willing… Read More