The BEST Investment Advice You Will EVER Receive is HERE!

There is a crucial component of the investment process that gets surprisingly little attention:  our investment default settings.  We can use them when we aren’t sure what to do, when we’re deciding what to do, when our circumstances have changed but our plan hasn’t (yet), or when we’re just starting out. Here they are. Read More »

Irrespective of any active v. passive investing debate, good advisors are an absolute necessity. Here’s my top 10 list of reasons why Read More »

7. Value Investing: The Practical Application of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett’s Principles

9. 10 Timeless Investment Rules to Survive This Stormy Stock Market

Rules may be meant to be broken, but with investing ignoring the rules can break you – especially now. Investment rules are tailor-made for tough times, allowing you to stick to a plan just when you need it most. Indeed, a rulebook is important in any market climate, but it tends to get tossed when stocks are soaring. That’s why sage investors warn people not to confuse a bull market with brains. Here are 10 rules to survive this stormy stock market. Words: 769

10. Don’t Invest in the Stock Market Without Heeding These “Rules of Trading”

I’m not going to candy coat it for you: making serious money in the stock market is a ton of hard work. It takes patience, savvy, and a certain level of market smarts – and the cold, hard truth is that if you don’t have them, the big boys will drain your portfolio dry. Unfortunately, those are the three areas that most retail investors need to work on the most. Otherwise, they will simply end up in a cat-and-mouse game where they are the mice. Don’t fool yourself for one second into believing that your “due diligence” can be done by watching a show or two on CNBC. It just doesn’t work that way but if there is one voice from the markets that should grab your attention every time you hear it, it belongs to Dennis Gartman, founder and author of The Gartman Letter. He’s sort of a guru’s guru. [Here is] a glimpse into how he views and trades the markets. Words: 106

11. 12 Books that EVERY Financial Advisor – and Investor – Should Read

Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, believes the following books are essential financial reading.

12. Words of Wisdom From the Most Brilliant Investors Ever

There’s a bewildering amount of advice on how to invest…so it’s worthwhile, especially in today’s volatile markets, to take a look at what has actually worked, as opposed to what people claim works. We’ve collected some of the finest wisdom on markets from the most respected and successful investors, past and present. Words: 865

13. Understanding Systematic Risk, Modern Portfolio Theory and the Efficient Frontier

Risk inherent to the entire market or market segment is referred to as systematic risk and modern portfolio theory says that a blend of investments has the potential to increase overall return for a given level of risk, and/or decrease risk for a given return that the investor is trying to achieve. The expected risk/return relationship is known as the efficient frontier. [If you have a portfolio of investments then you need to fully understand what all this really means and how you can apply it to your portfolio makeup to enhance returns under any circumstances. Let me do just that.] Words: 1325

14. Don’t Invest in the Stock Market Without Reading This Article First

History has shown that investors who stick to disciplined, fundamental-focused strategies give themselves a good chance of beating the market over the long haul and James O’Shaughnessy has compiled data that stretches back to before the Great Depression, back-tested numerous strategies, and has come to some very intriguing conclusions. [Let me share some of them with you.] Words: 1325

15. Asset Allocation: How Sound is the Foundation of Your Portfolio Pyramid?

Regardless of the size of your financial pyramid, without a core-holding foundation, you are building it on sand. Core holdings are for protection, not for profit. They function as insurance against a catastrophe. [Let me explain.] Words: 754

16. Your Portfolio Isn’t Adequately Diversified Without 7-15% in Precious Metals – Here’s Why

The traditional view of portfolio management is that three asset classes, stocks, bonds and cash, are sufficient to achieve diversification. This view is, quite simply, wrong because over the past 10 years gold, silver and platinum have singularly outperformed virtually all major widely accepted investment indexes. Precious metals should be considered an independent asset class and an allocation to precious metals, as the most uncorrelated asset group, is essential for proper portfolio diversification. [Let me explain.] Words: 2137

17. Apply the Bell Curve to Your Portfolio Asset Diversification – Here’s Why

80% of my investable income is in cash, precious metals and a small number of stocks. That might seem crazy, but the Pareto Principle, Zipf’s Law and the bell curve have convinced me that it’s a waste of time and money to get any more diversified. [Let me explain why that is the case.] Words: 396

18. What You Should Know About the “Dogs of the Dow” Investment Strategy

The “Dogs of the Dow” is a simple and effective strategy that has outperformed the Dow over the last 50 years and generates almost 4% in yield. Here’s how it works. Words: 486

19. Yes, You Can Time the Market – Use These Trend Indicators

Remember, the trend is your friend and now you have an arsenal of such indicators to make an extensive and in-depth assessment of whether you should be buying or selling. If ever there was a “cut and save” investment advisory this article is it. Words: 1579

20.  Ride the Market Waves With These 6 Momentum Indicators

It is hard to know what to buy or sell let alone just when to prudently do so. Thank goodness there are indicators available that provide information of stock and index movement of a more immediate nature to help you make such important decisions. This article describes the 6 most popular Momentum Indicators. If ever there was a “cut and save” investment advisory this is it! Words: 1234

21.  Here’s How to Time the Market!

There are many indicators available that provide information on stock and index movement to help you time the market and make money. Market strength and volatility are two such categories of indicators and a description of six of them are described in this “cut and save” article. Read on! Words: 974

22.  Understanding the Patterns, Trends, Indicators and Formations of Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis is the discipline of finding reliable patterns, trends, indicators and formations, mainly in price, for buying and selling assets…To a large degree, technical analysis is a self-fulfilling prophesy [in that] it is effectively an unofficial agreement amongst market participants to impose more order on what would otherwise be more random. The key is to understand which patterns, formations and indicators are widely adhered to, so as to become useful predictors of price action [and this article does just that. Let me explain.] Words: 470

23. The P/E Ratio: Its Strengths and Limitations

When it comes to valuing stocks, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is the number one metric for investors that want an instant fix on what the market thinks of a company. [That being said], there are health warnings to heed if you don’t want to be left exposed by its limitations. [Let me explain.] Words: 1101

24. Be Careful! Former Investment “Rules” Nolonger Work – Here’s Why

Investment “rules” that were relevant for a century are obsolete. They were based on a world where economies grew, people’s standard of living increased and outcomes tomorrow better than today. Arguably each of these conditions will not hold in the future but if they don’t, neither do the rules of thumb that guided investing last century.  These guiding principles developed and worked in a world that that no longer exists but applying them in the future will result in devastating financial outcomes. [Let me explain.] Words: 1261

25. Here’s What You Need to Know About Short Selling a Stock

You can make money short selling a stock if its price goes down – but if its price goes up, your losses could be unlimited. [This short article outlines the theory behind short selling and what you need to know before doing so.] Words: 333

26. 6 Things to Know About Buying on Margin & 3 Risks of Doing So

Buying on margin can mean potentially higher returns – but it can also lead to large losses very fast. [This article outlines 6 things to know about buying on margin and 3 key risks of doing so.] Words: 848

27. What to Watch For When Considering Companies to Invest In

Investing in the stock market is hard enough. The last thing you need is to find yourself owning a company that has questionable accounting, disclosure or other policies. [Below is] a review of 5 things you should watch out for when investigating companies for a stock investment. Words: 740

28. Market -Timing Pays BIG Dividends for Income Investors – Here’s Why

Many income investors have been taught to believe that “market-timing” is anathema to their investment objectives and/or that it can’t be done successfully… I will argue that this piece of conventional wisdom is false – dangerously false. In a three-part series of essays, I will argue that market-timing needs to be incorporated as a fundamental component of income investing. I will demonstrate why market-timing is important, when it should be applied and how it should be implemented. [Read on!] Words: 1956