Mountain Money Blog
Stocks picked up – not quite where they left off in 2013 – with a respectable gain. Following a remarkable 32.39% gain in 2013, the S & P 500 Index increased 1.81% in the quarter; but not without a little bit of excitement and the re-emergence of volatility. The news was ever changing: Congress passed […]
It seems like only yesterday that we were peering over the abyss of the fiscal cliff. Last New Year’s Eve, even after the 2012 elections were over, the political standoff appeared to be continuing. Taxes were set to rise, sequestration was about to kick in and the debt ceiling was once again about to be […]
Senior financial abuse has become an epidemic in this country. But there are ways to recognize it and try to prevent yourself or a loved one from becoming a victim.
My earlier post on Professor Eugene Fama’s Nobel Prize in Economics needed a bit of a side bar tying together my thoughts on a couple of the ironies exposed by his award.
Dr. Eugene F. Fama, one of my few heroes, recently won the Nobel Prize in Economics. It sure is nice to have the work of such great and thoughtful men on which to build a business – and a life.
Dimensional Funds Advisors’ Quarterly Market Review provides an in depth, but accessible, view of the performance of the global capital markets. Also included is a brief tip on how to ride the “emerging markets tiger” in your portfolio.
Every time I sit down to write a quarterly client note reviewing the investment news of the most recent quarter, there’s a conflagration brewing in the current quarter that overwhelms the discussion. This quarter is no different.
Our friends at Dimensional Fund Advisors graciously provide us with a robust and detailed review of the world capital market performance. Attached is their Quarterly Market Review. The report includes: a global overview, timeline of events, and the returns of asset classes in both US and international markets. Also included are returns for globally diversified index portfolios […]
The coining of a new phrase – “taper tantrum” – spiced up a volatile second quarter. Reacting swiftly to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s late June announcement that there was some evidence of improvement in the economy and a possible change in the Fed’s accommodative monetary policy, skittish investors precipitously sold both stocks (from May’s […]
PBS recently aired a Frontline show entitled The Retirement Gamble, profiling the 401(k) industry. If you missed it, it can be viewed here. Polemic in tone, the show is highly critical of the country’s evolution from defined benefit pension plans toward defined contribution 401(k) type plans, and in particular the culture of the industry that […]