Category: Risk

  • Buffett is Selling Apple. Should You?

    In a report released May 4, 2024, Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it has sold about 115 million shares of Apple, for proceeds of about $20 billion. About a year ago, in June 2023, we observed that Apple shareholders had enjoyed a phenomenal run. At that time, about a year ago,…

  • Record-High Gold Prices: Does Gold Belong in An Investment Portfolio?

    Record-High Gold Prices: Does Gold Belong in An Investment Portfolio?

    Gold is trading at record highs, with spot prices exceeding $2250 per ounce as I write this. The chart above might lead you to wonder if you should be investing in gold. In this post, we address two related questions: We’ll first give you the answers, offer brief explanations, and…

  • Time to Get Out of New York Real Estate?

    The New York Supreme Court, in the person of Judge Arthur Engoron, has caused an earthquake in the New York real estate market. Investors don’t like risk, and they particularly don’t like political risk. To a great many observers, the trial which resulted in Engoron’s ruling, a trial which some…

  • Why Doesn’t Your Client Act? 4 Factors to Guide Financial Decision-Making

    Advisors can spend hours explaining a great solution to their clients, only to have those clients not act on the solution. There’s no magic bullet. But sometimes clients appreciate it when their advisor helps them identify what’s making the decision hard.  What makes a decision difficult?  Decision analysts have found…

  • Advisors Gain Assets Easily and Stand Out from the Competition

    Advisors Gain Assets Easily and Stand Out from the Competition

    Many financial advisors work hard to grow, or to stand out in a crowded marketplace. A select few are discovering how to grow more easily, and stand out from the competition, by implementing a “blue ocean” strategy.  Blue Ocean Strategy is the name of one of the most famous articles…

  • Novo Nordisk: Time to Sell?

    Novo Nordisk: Time to Sell?

    Novo Nordisk shareholders have grown fat even as the obesity drug company’s customers have been losing weight. From relative obscurity just five years ago, Novo Nordisk has become the most valuable company in Europe. The promise of future returns is built into the stock price. In this post, we look…

  • What Would You Pay for an Extra Year of Life?

    What Would You Pay for an Extra Year of Life?

    What would you give up for an extra year of life? Investors, economists, traders, and other people may immediately object that the question is under-specified. Time Preference At the minimum, they would insist on knowing when they get the extra year and the quality of the year. Let’s assume that…

  • The Hidden Risk: Interest Rates and Inflation

    This month, the Fed decided not to raise interest rates, and traders responded by driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an all-time record.[1] Why? Apparently, the market believes that the next Fed move will be to decrease interest rates, presumably because the Fed believes it has beaten inflation. “Inflation…

  • Hidden Portfolio Risk: Is Sugar the Next Tobacco?

    Certain products, notably alcohol and tobacco, have been demonized at various times in American history. These periodic demonizations typically have many “unintended” consequences.[1] So What?When products are “demonized,” trouble can follow. Consumers may shun the products, taxes may cut into sales and margins, and regulations may further restrict or curtail the…

  • Do 95% of Stocks Eventually Lose?

    Yes, 95% of stocks do eventually lose. That’s the bad news. But there’s good news too. We’ll explain the above claim, and then will suggest a solution. The stock market has generated incredible wealth for investors over the last hundred years. But if you’re not careful, you can lose big, as shown by…