Category Archive

Another Record, But This Time a Good One In 2016, a record was set: worst start to a year, ever. Although a recovery came quickly, it was no fun while it lasted. In 2017, another record was set: all twelve months saw a positive return. Far more palatable. Never before had this happened, though we’ve been close in years past. But this time, even the bad months were good enough to stay positive, and cement 2017’s place in history. The worst month was August, with a return as low as a tenth of a percent. August was followed by the …

Happy Holidays! During this season, we take time to reflect upon the good things we have…like our relationship with you. We appreciate working with you and hope that the holidays and the coming year will bring you happiness and success. John & Bill

This is why you should turn off CNBC, stop listening to Jim Cramer, and unsubscribe from Money Magazine. If you’re short on time, scroll down to the graphs, and you’ll see why Mr. Mackintosh from the Wall Street Journal could repost this story every year. Enjoy, John & Bill   Wall Street’s 2017 Market Predictions: Pathetically Wrong Forecasting is difficult, but this year showed exactly how pointless it can be: Markets performed opposite of virtually all predictions By  James Mackintosh Nov. 23, 2017 4:58 p.m. ET We all like to remember our successes and forget our failures, and finance is …

The Cost of Being Human Why do we so often buy high (the internet bubble of 2000) and sell low (2008-2009), when doing just the opposite is the only way to succeed? Why do so many of us make so many bad investment decisions? Because we’re programmed to. Our genetic code is our enemy when we make investment decisions. The behaviors and biases that hurt our portfolios are innate. We’re simply born this way. After all, would we ever logically and willfully make an investment decision that loses money? Of course not. Here’s a brief description of some of the …