Financial Professionals

For the better part of a century, economists have been wrangling over the most effective and accurate way to measure the U.S. economy’s size and growth. Spoiler alert: they haven’t found it yet.1 To be fair, the task before them is monumental – measuring an economy as diverse, massive, and ever-changing as the U.S. economy […]

You may have heard the phrase “Retail Apocalypse” recently, in reference to the wave of store closures and bankruptcies hitting the U.S. retail sector. The names on this hitlist are familiar ones: Macy’s shuttering 100 stores and laying off 5,000 workers1; Abercrombie and Fitch shuttering 40 stores in 2017; American Apparel filing for bankruptcy and […]

One could argue that the phrase “political turmoil in Europe” has been applicable in nearly every year of the last decade. For many countries in the region, it has been a constant struggle for unity and political stability in the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis, culminating in Brexit and the populist wave currently engulfing […]

You are most likely familiar with the old adage “sell in May and go away” warning investors to sell their stock holdings in May in order to avoid a seasonal decline in equity markets. I do not necessarily advise investors to follow this approach. But as June is underway, I believe this time of year […]

Being a successful long-term investor requires research, patience, discipline, smart decision-making, and maybe a little bit of luck along the way. Honing those traits and applying them to portfolio management is a solid formula for generating competitive results over time, in my view. But there’s another key trait that investors need in steady supply in […]

At any given time, there are always several impactful events happening at once in the global economy and the capital markets. Earnings reports, inflation readings, central bank decisions, trade deals, geopolitical chess moves with weighty implications. Taken together, all of these factors hold some sway over the direction of stocks and bonds, so it makes […]

For most of this economic expansion, inflation has essentially been a non-factor. In spite of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates to the zero bound for several years while also engaging in quantitative easing programs designed to pump liquidity into the economy, the inflation rate has rarely touched its 2% target.1 In the early years […]

Let’s face it – this bull market is old. Very old. And forgive me for being harsh, but it also might die soon. While I don’t believe bull markets die of old age, I do think that the longer an economic and market growth cycle runs, the more vulnerable it becomes to fundamental breakdowns – […]