Dear Retirees – Hang Loose Don’t Hang Ten
Financial planner Gary Alpert has made Woodstock home for him, his wife Wendy Helen and their pups, Chloe and Skeeter. “I am a member of the Woodstock Rotary Club and really enjoy giving back to the community,” Gary said. “Wendy Helen and I enjoy supporting various local charities and participating in the business community. We […]
If (You’re Sure) It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is one of my favorite proverbs. However, with all due respect to the great Bert Lance who coined the phrase, I’d like to make a modification that especially rings true in the investment world. Do we determine whether something is broke or it ain’t based on a […]
Cuba: An Outsider’s Perspective
I just returned from a trip to Cuba in which I visited several parts of the country. It started with a flight to Santa Clara, followed by a taxi ride to Havana. My friends and I stayed in an Airbnb on the coast of Havana and then in several Casas Particulares around the country […]
Dare To Be Different
While I am a fairly conservative financial advisor, I like to step out sometimes. My interests include dancing, traveling to third world countries and consuming ethnic foods (particularly Indian and Ethiopian cuisine). I’ve even been convinced to eat a chocolate covered cricket (found in the US and I’m not embarrassed to say it was […]
Stay Hungry My Friends
It has been over seven years since we were mired in the Great Recession. Over seven years since some of us had to work twice as hard for half the pay, worry about whether our job was safe, or be concerned about whether we were going to find a new job after being laid […]
In the Long Term, the Absolute Trumps the Relative
Most of us remember the dot com bubble. We would buy a technology stock trading at 60 times its earnings estimates and think this was a tremendous deal as compared to other technology stocks trading at over 100 times or even 1,000 times their earnings. When the bubble popped, almost all technology stocks got […]
May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
I recently watched all of the movies in the Hunger Games series (admittedly becoming a bit jaded after the second installment). President Snow was the elegant and soft-spoken leader of Panem, a fictional country overrun by poverty. He was reviled by his subjects because his actions were often vicious and oppressive. President Snow administered the […]
Upping the Ante in Our Relationships
I remember when I was stranded with my car just off Peachtree Road during a cold snowy day in Atlanta. In a most foolish moment, I drove a rear-wheel drive automobile home from work in the snow and ice. While standing by my car in obvious frustration, a man driving by slowed down and asked […]
The Bond Bubble That Isn’t
After experiencing two major asset bubbles in the last 15 years, we find ourselves on constant bubble alert. The Sherlock Holmes in each of us is inspired to investigate which major asset class is set to experience the next spectacular fall. What common investment is so ridiculously overpriced that only a fool would dedicate even […]
Buyer Beware – Yield is Not Return
In today’s low interest rate environment, don’t let the search for yield cause you to take on more risk than you were bargaining for. In fact, it could be argued that the higher an investment’s yield, the higher its risk and the higher the chance this investment could produce a negative return. This sounds […]
