Category: Investing
390 posts categorized as "Investing"
And the Survey Says…
January 29, 2013
Confession time: I am a survey junky. I love to read surveys, and consider political polls to be the best form of reality entertainment. I used to work part time for Gallup as a pollster and rarely turn down a call asking me who I will be voting for, what TV shows I watch, or…
Japan’s Central Bank Enters the Devaluing Fray
January 22, 2013
I read an interesting article this weekend by Ray Dalio, of Bridgewater Associates, about deleveraging. He contends that all countries pass through a similar cycle of leveraging up through the use of credit, followed by a phase of deleveraging to return debt-to-income ratios to manageable levels. Deleveraging can occur in four different ways: 1) debt…
Environmentally Friendly?
January 17, 2013
When I would present to clients and advisors in the mid-2000s, I often spoke about some potential transformations that would have a large impact on the investing landscape. Energy independence was one of those items. I always imagined it coming from alternative energy and improved batteries. Based on information in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s…
Bulls Are On The Move
January 15, 2013
How does this bull market in the S&P compare to past bull markets? In short, the economic recovery may be below average, but the stock market strength is clearly above-average. The bull market’s length is now over 1400 days. This is longer than 70 percent of all bull markets. The gain in the S&P is…
A Quick Look at Fixed Income
January 10, 2013
For approximately the past four years both stocks and bonds have had positive returns for investors. The Federal Reserve has been printing money at a record pace and it continues to do so. However, that gravy train may finally be coming to an end and some investors are starting to become concerned about what to…
Bank of America’s Billion Dollar Settlements
January 9, 2013
On Monday, Bank of America announced two large settlements with different parts of the federal government. Settling items for Bank of America is nothing new. Counting the twin settlements, Bank of America has reached fourteen settlements with various entities since 2010. Over that time, Bank of America has paid to settle charges for loaning to…
CLS Investment Themes For 2013
January 8, 2013
CLS has developed key investment themes for 2013, let’s identify them and take a look at some of the ways these can be implemented. Below I offer some ‘resolutions’ to get the ball rolling in the New Year. Theme: Creative Diversification Be More Active – One of the more popular trends in new ETF’s lately has…
Skill vs. Luck
January 2, 2013
My car broke down over the weekend. As I lost feeling in my toes and smoke billowed out from underneath my hood, I immediately assumed that the problem had something to do with the repairs performed nearly a month ago by individuals who will remain nameless. Not surprisingly I felt a bit of righteous indignation…
Harvesting Tax Losses
December 31, 2012
This year, more than ever, has brought the unrealized tax sheet under the microscope, and at CLS we have been actively harvesting tax losses in our portfolios. If Congress doesn’t pass new legislation, short and long term capital gains taxes are set to increase, therefore we are gleaning any capital losses and gains within our…
Retirement Planning Action Steps for Advisors
December 17, 2012
Retirement planning is a major focus for most financial advisors. Every generation needs to give it serious consideration, and develop a concrete plan that they can stay disciplined to. BlackRock offers five points of advice to financial professionals in order to help clients achieve their retirement goals. 1) Offer role models: Instead of just talking…