Prices are important...
Last time in this space, I mentioned Howard Marks, a highly respected investment manager and market commentator. In the interview I watched, he made several notable remarks including the following: ‘There are no bad assets, only bad prices…a good asset and a good investment are not the same. Whether an asset proves to be a good investment, or eventually becomes one, is generally, and mostly, a function of the price you paid for it.’
Bears Make Money, Bulls Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered
It was a surprising week in so many ways - the unexpected level of success of the Republican party that led to their controlling both the House and the Senate as well as the re-ascension of Donald Trump to the Presidency. And no sooner had that dust settled a bit than the stock markets surged wildly, also unexpected considering that it was already widely viewed as overvalued.
Why GDP May Not Be the Best Measure of a Country’s Success
A while back in this space, I highlighted a column that discussed the idea that GDP may not be the best measure of a country’s success. A number of countries were exploring alternative metrics. This past weekend, I read a brief column about the growing (pun intended) movement that goes under the label of ‘degrowth’. With growth as the prime objective and measure of success, other concerns can be sidelined and overlooked.
Marginal Considerations
Today, we want to discuss decision-making in financial and non-financial situations ‘on the margin’. Gaining a perspective on the ultimate impact of a variety of alternatives on the margin can facilitate decision making and ease concerns about what at first might seem to be very different potential outcomes. Considerations of the true impact that differences of outcomes have ‘on the margin’ can be very helpful in making financial and investment decisions in a way that is too often left unexamined by most people. In fact, it might be liberating to some who find themselves paralyzed with indecision. An example will illustrate what I am talking about…
Not Your Mother’s Retirement…
The concept of the orderly, low-stress retirement, while not that distant a memory for some, is not much present anymore these days…
It's All Selling... All the Time
Many people say that they do not like sales, can’t sell, don’t like having to try to sell or making some snarky comment about the ‘slick’ sales types that they know. It is such a limited, dare I say naïve, view? We are all selling all the time…
