After a constructive quarter for our clients, it appeared all would be undone as we neared quarter end and voters in the U.K. made the historic decision to back out of the European Union. Notables such as former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, George Soros and Bill Gross worried that we […]
Greetings, and here’s hoping you saw a great fireworks show on July 4th!
After a constructive quarter for our clients, it appeared all would be undone as we neared quarter-end and voters in the U.K. made the historic decision to back out of the European Union. Notables such as former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, former Treasury […]
I wanted to share some charts that appeared in a recent Bloomberg.com article. They confirm my own experience in speaking with clients and prospective clients at this time: everyone is nervous and untrusting of the stock market. Fortunately, bear markets usually begin from a psychological place of extreme bullishness. So the emotional conditions […]
From the Los Angeles Times: “Op-Ed: How could someone rich and famous like Prince die without a will? It’s not unusual. Just ask an estate lawyer” Jack B. Osborn, April 28, 2016
How could Prince die without a will?
He didn’t amass a $250-million estate just through exceptional musical talent. He was also a shrewd […]
We think this article posted in the Wall Street Journal will most definitely be of interest for our clients and those thinking about hiring us.
See if you can find yourself in this video from our OC Pro Networkers dance lesson
on July 11!
I’m sure enjoying getting to know everyone in our new and exciting group! How about we dance every Thursday morning!
And remember to refer […]
As a strong quarter progressed, I became increasingly uncomfortable with the euphoria that seemed to be infecting investors, especially those who like interest sensitive holdings. Sure enough, the air was let out of that balloon with Fed Chairman Bernanke's comments in mid-May. He indicated that the Fed might let up on the credit creation gas pedal sooner than later, because the US economy appears to have gained a growth momentum that no longer requires dirt cheap credit to nudge it along. Horrors! Good news like this was anathema to many bond market participants, who have become addicted to ridiculously cheap credit. Panic ensued.
Along with bonds of all classes, interest sensitive sectors like MLP's, REITs and utilities took a hit, many falling 15% from recent highs. Because our clients are well diversified, and we had already raised cash levels, shrinkage was confined to low single digits.
Our policy for the past year has been to not replace existing bond positions when they mature or (more commonly) are "called" in by the issuers. I've bemoaned these early bond redemptions in previous newsletters because our clients' bonds are generally paying generous income, something nearly impossible to find today. Nearly all bonds we own are institutional grade, purchased between 2007 and 2010 when nervous investors avoided this asset class in the doleful days of the Great Recession. Most of the cash generated from bond redemptions or bond fund sales have been left in cash, as few bargain stocks were available, in my judgment.
I am a BIG SKEPTIC when it comes to variable annuities. These articles from CNN Money and the Wall Street Journal offer reasons why variable annuities rarely make sense as an investment. Before you commit your money to one of these expensive products, please give Gary Miller a call for an objective analysis (remember, we do […]
There are multiple actions you can take to better prepare yourself financially for retirement.
Here are six tips that may help you make the most of your final working years.
1. Catch up. If you have access to a 401 (k) or other workplace-sponsored plan at work, make the
$5.500 catch-up contribution that is available to participants aged 50 and older. Note that you are
first required to contribute the annual employee maximum, $17,500 for 2013. before making the
catch-up contribution.
2. Fund an IRA. Investors aged 50 and older can contribute $6,500 annually (the $5,500 annual
contribution plus an additional catch-up contribution of $1 ,000). An investor in his or her 50s who
contributes the maximum amounts to both a 401(k) and an IRA could accelerate retirement
savings by more than $25,000 a year.
The view from Orange County California, one of the highest net worth counties in the United States...
When judged by indexes, it has been a grand year for the stock market. Bonds have done their part too. Our Balanced/Value portfolios have generally seen a gain of about 8% year to date. This is below the stock indexes, as is normal for our “Balanced” style during a bull market. We shine most when the Applesauce hits the fan, so you will see from the figures found at the end of this article that over the past five years, which encompass the Great Recession Bear Market, our clients enjoyed annual returns of over twice the rate experienced by stock index investors. Speaking of Applesauce (and Google) these were principal drivers of stock market indexes in the quarter. If you were not heavily invested in them, you “underperformed”.
