A couple of weeks ago, Democratic Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, tweeted that “Billionaires should not exist” to introduce his proposal to tax the wealth of the richest Americans. My immediate reaction was that Bernie is dead wrong. But as I have had more time to ruminate on the subject, I’ve developed a more cohesive reason…
New Research on Women on Boards
There’s a new paper in this month’s Harvard Business Review that connects to presence of women on boards to lower overconfidence in male CEOs. This is the kind of research I relish over, especially because the authors found a market based metric to measure CEO overconfidence – the exercise of their own stock options. Essentially,…
Nerves
If you are ever in the path of a hurricane, you will notice that the animals leave before the storm hits. There are no birds, squirrels, or even flying insects around. Perhaps they can feel the drop in barometric pressure, which warns them to get out of the way. Being outside when all the animals…
Wealth/Stack Conference Recap
We did it! The inaugural Wealth/Stack conference was held in Scottsdale, AZ earlier this week. After more than a year of planning and preparation, we executed what I think will become a can’t miss event for independent advisors in future years. Of course, the team at Inside ETFs did the heavy lifting with logistics and…
Beginner’s Mind
My yoga teachers have often spoken of the benefits of a Beginner’s Mind. A student new to yoga, or any other discipline, approaches postures and sequences with no preconceived ideas and a healthy curiosity. There are no mental obstacles to block information and wisdom that can be obtained from learning the new pose. After practicing…
Yield Curve Inversion in the Mortgage Market
Mortgage rates are at their lowest levels in three years. A mortgage refinance boom is underway. As yields on long-term U.S. Treasuries have come down, so have mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed rate reached almost 5.0% in November 2018. It fell to 3.90% last week. According to the Mortgage Banker’s Association, refinance rates are 180%…
The Biggest Taboo – Inheritance
Talking about money is a big taboo. We might brag about a stock pick or a successful real estate deal we were invited to join. But rarely do we tell our friends how much money we earn or our actual net worth. That would be impolite. And no where is money a bigger taboo than…
Selloffs, Trade Wars, Yield Curve Inversions .. Oh My!
For the second time in two weeks, US stocks experienced a decent selloff yesterday. According to social media pundits, it was the fourth largest point decline in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Yikes! Except points are not percentages, and we will continue to see larger and larger point moves for the index…
The Belle Curve Turns One
It’s official. I’ve been blogging here for exactly one year today. When I revisit my first post and remember my expectations and concerns about starting a blog, I am filled with gratitude. This is my 83rd post, not bad, a little more than 1.5 times per week for an entire year. Given the rate of…
Portland Bound
On Monday, I am flying to Portland, Oregon to visit my colleague Joey Fishman. If you don’t know Joey, he is our in-house expert for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing. Josh wrote about our sustainable investing strategies and why we offer them to clients a few years ago. Ironically, I’m making this trip in…
