Robert Isbitts of Sungarden Investment Research is sounding alarm bells regarding the following numerical coincidence he discovered: From September 1, 1995 until the peak of the tech-bubble on August 18, 2000, the S&P 500 return (excluding dividends) was 165%. From March 6, 2009 (the Great Recession bottom) through February 26, 2014 (around now), the return…
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The San Jose Mercury News reported today that Michael Brendan Ferguson of Foster City was arrested for fleecing over 100 investors out of millions via a Ponzi scheme involving ATM machines.  One victim told the newspaper that she had lost her entire life savings (over $750,000) in the scam. While Ponzi schemes are nothing new…
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Investment companies and the financial media generally spend most of their time focused on returns and other benefits of the various investment opportunities they recommend.  Yet when it comes to communicating the risks associated with those investments, the industry is a lot less forthcoming, according to Larry Doyle, author of the book In Bed with…
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Have you ever wondered how Standard & Poor’s selects the companies whose stocks go into the S&P 500 index?  They utilize a methodology called capitalization weighting (cap weighting for short), in which inclusion is based on a company’s market capitalization.  That’s a fancy term for how much investors value the company, and it is calculated…
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Yes, you do. How’s that for a succinct answer? But in case you don’t know what an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is, or how it’s utilized, here’s a brief explanation. An IPS is a written document that basically describes how an investor’s money is to be managed/invested. Every publicly-traded mutual fund and ETF is required…
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