Smaller Stocks are Paying Off this Year

May 28, 2013

Smaller companies are known for higher risks, but higher returns. In broad bull markets, small cap companies generally lead. This year, that has been half true. Leading investments in 2013 are concentrated in anything yield (from junk debt to utilities) and low volatility consumer staples. Following these winners are smaller stocks and midcap indexes. Going […]

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Market is Up for 18 Straight Tuesdays – Investing Strategy?

May 19, 2013

We’re now in the midst of 18 straight up Tuesdays for the S&P500.  While this is a statistical anomaly, surely there is someone out there who thinks there’s an investing strategy to exploit this “trend”.  Perhaps buy leveraged ETFs on Wednesday nights and sell them Thursday nights?  Perhaps buy call options for even more leverage?  […]

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An ETF for Rising Inflation

May 12, 2013

Low interest rates are starting to fuel an economic fire. In the financial markets, I believe low-yield alternatives are leading investors to pay up for less attractive dividend funds and junk bonds. (The Wall Street Journal said the same this week). In the housing market, low interest rates are pushing investors back into single family […]

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3 Signs Yield Investors are Driving the Market

May 5, 2013

Investors have been on the hunt for yield ever since policy pushed investors to risk assets to generate any real return. Yields on US Treasuries, certificates of deposit, and short-term corporate bonds is without question well below the rate of inflation. Yields are certainly lower than the true rate of inflation as defined by the […]

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3 Reasons It’s Not Too Late to Jump On This Rally

May 3, 2013

You’ve probably seen news accounts recently that equities markets in various countries are hitting new highs and continue to rally in spite of whatever alarming news exists in the economy, Europe, and the geopolitical landscape.  There are good reasons for this, while other facets of this rally leave many scratching their heads.  Regardless of what […]

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Risk Aversion Applies to More Than Just Investing

April 30, 2013

I’m sometimes confounded by people who say they are very conservative investors and are unwilling to take on the routine equity volatility risk that is, well, pretty much necessary to beat inflation these days.  Yet at the same time, they carry no insurance of any sort for all the various unforeseen events and maladies that […]

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Media is Red Hot for Good Reasons

April 28, 2013

Netflix (NFLX) may be this year’s best performer as a provider of internet TV, but investors are seeing impressive gains in media as a whole. PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio (PBS) ranks among several leveraged funds and Japanese equity ETFs as a top YTD performer. The fund tracks an index of 32 different media companies, most […]

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How Far Should Investors Go in the Quest for Diversification

April 26, 2013

One of the key tenants of successful investing is proper diversification.  But can diversifying assets and classes be taken to such an extreme that it’s detrimental to returns?  Back when I was a more active investor trading individual stocks on a more routine basis, I used to question the wisdom of professional fund managers owning […]

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A Low(er) Volatility Mid Cap Fund

April 21, 2013

When iShares isn’t too busy leading the world of exchange traded products, it’s designing new funds to take public. One of its newest launches, the MSCI USA Size Factor ETF (SIZE) could be a winner given its focus as a new, lower volatility mid cap ETF. This new ETF from iShares will track the MSCI […]

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