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An individual can spend his or her entire career accumulating assets, and then lose them in one nasty lawsuit. Take action now to help shield yourself and your assets from creditors, as well as from excessive taxation.
All wealthy clients should be concerned about protecting assets from creditors. After all, one big lawsuit is all it takes to rob a client and his/her family of a lifetime's worth of assets. And since there is no way of knowing when such an event may occur, more ...
Phil Diamond, CFA | Aug. 17, 2009
It was 27 years ago last week that the market hit its bottom in the 1981-1982 bear market. That market had seen stock prices fall to rock bottom valuations and yet, no one wanted to own stocks that summer. To think, Philip Morris at 6 times earnings and yielding 8%. The environment then was horrendous. Interest rates on long-term Treasury bonds were still at 12%, down from 15% in late 1981. The prime rate had fallen to 17% more ...
Phil Diamond, CFA | Aug. 17, 2009
Last Friday (August 14th), investors received news that the University of Michigan/Reuters Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 63.2 from 66.0 in July. The expectation was for a gain to 69.0. Surprise! This number likely caused our drop that day. Stocks turned in a very summer performance last week, shifting on an almost daily basis based on news. The recent upward trend is still in force, but it is starting to lose momentum. One more ...
Eric Linser, CFA | Aug. 12, 2009
US real estate has been the worst performing asset class so far this year. Despite signs the worst may be behind us, US real estate has yet to mount a serious recovery, adding to already steep losses in the first half of the year. Even as home prices are finally beginning to stabilize in many key markets, most real estate investment trusts or REITs have continued their downward trends. The reason? While residential real more ...
Eric Linser, CFA | Aug. 12, 2009
Here, I show you various charts of multiple asset classes. Take my thoughts to heed and actively implement broader diversification into your portfolios.
Key:
Dow Jones Ind = Dow Jones Industrial Average (US large stock index)
S&P 500 = S&P 500 (US large stock index)
NASDAQ = NASDAQ (US mid-large stock index, no financials)
Russell 2000 = Russell 2000 more ...
I remember an advertisement in the 1980's with GM trying to rekindle the Oldsmobile brand but proclaiming that "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." It obviously didn't work, and in 2004 the last Olds rolled off the assembly line. In a similar vein, the tried-and-true static asset allocation that has been preached for ages of having your investments allocated 60% to stocks (equities) and 40% to bonds (fixed income) has gone the way of Oldsmobile or for that matter, GM.
Well, I think more ...
Did you follow Warren Buffett's advice last year to buy American stocks? In that now famous October 17, 2008 Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, Buffet shared his simple rule for buying stocks: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." Certainly at that time fear had gripped the markets and investors were fleeing equities into cash.
Well if you did buy at that time, then you are one of the few, the proud, and the bold value more ...
Green Valley Wealth Advisors | Aug. 11, 2009
It is the story of the tortoise and the hare - one of Aesop's fables - about how a hare was one day ridiculed by a slow-moving tortoise. In response, the tortoise challenged his swift mocker to a race. The hare, confident of winning and having left the tortoise far behind, took a nap. When he awoke, he found that his competitor, crawling slowly and steadily, had already won the race.
There are similar stories more ...
Albert Einstein called compound interest the 8th Wonder of the World, but a high rate of interest can work for you or against you. When you invest, it works for you. When you borrow, it works against you.
The Rule of 72 is a simplified way to determine how long an investment will take to double, given a fixed annual rate of interest. By dividing 72 by the annual rate of return, investors can get a rough estimate of how many years it will take for the more ...
Phil Diamond, CFA, | Aug. 10, 2009
The employment report was delivered right on time on the first Friday of the month. Most economists were expecting a better report this month than last or the one before that. While earlier this year the job-loss number had been trending from -550,000 toward -750,000, the last two months had shown drops and were below -443,000 last month. The best guesses for Friday’s number were around -275,000 until the ADP Employment Report more ...
Disclaimer: All articles are for informational purposes only and do not constitute offers/solicitations to sell or purchase any security or investment product or service; this information is provided solely for your personal use and is not intended to be investment advice; all investments are subject to risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested; diversification does not protect against a loss in a declining market or ensure a profit; stocks of companies in emerging markets are generally more risky than stocks of companies in developed countries; foreign investing involves additional risks including currency fluctuations and political uncertainty; prices of mid- and small-cap stocks often fluctuate more than those of large-company stocks; investments in bonds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk; past performance is no guarantee of future results; nothing constitutes tax or legal advice; investment products described herein are not bank deposits; are not insured by the FDIC or any other governmental entity; are neither obligations of, nor guaranteed by Green Valley Wealth Advisors, LLC. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content on third party websites; any and all links are offered only for use at your own discretion; and our privacy policies do not apply to linked websites.
