Retirement Watch Weekly
The Fed Still Doesn’t Need to Worry About Inflation
Many analysts and investors misunderstand inflation, and that’s caused them to misjudge markets the last few years. Most people believe that a lot of money printing by the central bank always leads to a lot of inflation. I remember making an investment presentation to a local group a year or so after the financial crisis. […]
The Stock Market Bubble Watch
Jeffrey Kleintop of Charles Schwab & Co. recently looked at a few asset classes for signs of bubbles. The assets were selected based on questions from investors. Kleintop didn’t find any that met his definition of a bubble. But he also cautioned that some of the assets carry a lot of risk for investors at […]
Retirement Locations to Consider
Longtime readers know that I caution against using lists of “best places to retire.”What’s appealing and important to the editors of a list might not be to you. I link to them, however, so you can see a sampling of what’s available and the reasons people give for favoring different places. This list is a […]
A Case for Active Investing Management
The studies showing that active stock managers lag the indexes cause many investors to believe active management is a waste of time and money. This article makes the case that many people misunderstand those studies and draw the wrong conclusions. It points out that the studies focus only on the narrow asset class of large […]
Investing Lessons from a Stock Market Trader
A trader of 30 years’ experience decided to write a blog post listing 30 things he’s learned about investing and trading during his career. Since he’s a trader, they don’t all apply to every investor. But he has good insights and useful rules. The best strategy is one you’ll stick with. Or more correctly, the […]
Cost of Living Across the States Compared
Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis used 2015 data to determine the cost of living in each state and ranked the states according to the cost of living. The survey is unique because it uses a new set of data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to make the comparisons. It’s no […]
Seniors Working in Retirement
The percentage of Americans age 65 and older who are in the work force is the highest in 55 years. Surveys indicate the percentage will rise in the future if those younger than 65 have it their way. The increase in older Americans in the work force predated the financial crisis but seems to have […]
A Warning About Smart Beta ETFs
Maneesh Shanbhag used to work at Bridgewater Associates and now runs his own hedge fund. He’s a quantitative investor, which means he spends a lot of time looking the data in detail. Shanbhag says the benefits of most “smart beta” ETFs are oversold. He believes the factors used to sort stocks (size, momentum, value, and […]
