Ruling Near on Fiduciary Duty for Brokers

My Comments: I’m proud of the fact that I’m held to a fiduciary standard. It’s in my best interest as a professional to be held to the same standards as attorneys, CPAs, physicians, and the like. My focus has to be on what is best for my clients, and that’s a good thing. Readers of …

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Investors’ Next Disappointment Will Come From Risk Mismanagement

My Comments: Reader of this blog know that I try to include meaningful comments about investments and investment outcomes. Over the years, I’ve done well for some clients and done poorly for others. And while the past is history, there are always lessons to be learned. I have a personal mandate to try and do …

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What the Dept. of Labor Might Do With the Fiduciary Rule

My Comments: Last week I attempted a definition of the word FIDUCIARY. My goal was to somehow increase the chances that financial professionals who use the term “advisors” are in fact fiduciaries, and as such, bound by law, by tradition, by ethics, to act and behave in their clients best interests. As a reminder, there …

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FIDUCIARY Defined

My Comments: A quick check using your smart phone will reveal that this word, used as a noun, means “... a person to whom property or power is entrusted for the benefit of another.” In addition, it can be used as an adjective, an example of which is fiduciary capacity or fiduciary duty or fiduciary …

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Are We Looking At A Bond Bubble?

My Comments: There are just as many ways to lose money with bonds as there are with stocks. The risk is different; what happens to interest rates in the future vs corporate earnings and their relative size. That’s an oversimplification but you get the idea. The chart above shows interest rates from 1790 – 2012. …

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It Is Informed Optimism To Wait For The Rain

My Comments: Yes, the title above is a little odd, but the word "optimism" caused me to stop and read. By every contemporary, standard definition, I am a “financial advisor”. That term is restricted, or should be, to those of us providing financial advice to clients that conforms to a fiduciary standard. Simply put, we …

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Are Gold And Silver Ready To Rumble?

My Comments: I’ve never been much of a gold bug. I recognize it’s value as a trading opportunity and the need for a large portfolio to include what are thought of as non-traditional investments. But since it tends to increase in value during times of high inflation and general woe and gloom, and being a …

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This Is Exactly How Fast the Windows Monopoly Is Being Destroyed

My Comments: At some point last year I ran across this and found it interesting. So I saved it for when I needed something to talk about. And today is one of those days! Dull, rainy and cold! It’s another example of what at one point appears to be something locked in stone but over …

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Correction Fears Are Overblown: Buy The Dip

My Comments: I am both blessed and cursed for almost always believing the glass is half full rather than half empty. Right now, my bias is to say that another correction like we had in 2008-09 is NOT going to happen again during my lifetime. But that’s not to say the business cycle of ups …

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The Danger Overlooked By Most Long-Term Investors

My Comments: I often tell my clients that if I did have a crystal ball, we’d not be having this conversation as I would probably be vacationing in the south of France. Or somewhere warm. So going into 2014, there are lots of the usual questions including the memorable one in the media these days, …

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