As a portfolio manager who follows the passive management strategy, I’ve never really liked the term “passive management.”  It just seems to elicit thoughts that we aren’t really managing the portfolios we oversee. Nothing could be further from the truth. While we follow the passive management strategy, we are anything but passive in our approach to make sure our client portfolios are the best they can be.

It’s almost 3pm on Sunday, July 31, 2011 as I write this. We are less than two days away from our nation running out of money and defaulting on our debt. And, for those of you who may not know…yes, I am in the United States of America!!  The U.S. Government has put itself in the position of not being able to pay its bills. There’s word today that our illustrious leaders have delayed, until later today, yet another ...

Summer has begun. This is the time when your thoughts may turn to that wonderful break in the year called a summer vacation. Maybe you’ll think about a trip to a theme park, a secluded resort, or a cruise to the islands. And maybe you’ve heard the expression that most people spend more time planning their vacation then they do planning their investment strategy. Unfortunately, the statement is true more often than not.

Knowing what we know about the reasons for the financial crisis of 2008, and our continuing economic struggles, it has become more difficult to trust the institutions that we must rely on. Not that it was easy before. There’s a lot of blame to be passed around. Government agencies get a lot of well-deserved blame. But Wall Street, the banks and insurance companies let us down as well. Too many times, they put their interests ...

With all of the turmoil going on around the world and the uncertainty of the economic environment, a lot of people are hesitant to be invested in the “markets.”   Many prefer to have the safety and security of a bank-issued Certificate of Deposit (CD). After all, a CD is guaranteed. What most don’t realize is that while they are guaranteed…the guarantee is that they will lose you money!

What pictures come into your mind when you think about the word “retirement?”  Maybe a round of golf or a trip to the beach anytime you want?  Traveling?  Spending time with the grandkids?  Taking up a new hobby?  If you are already retired, are you experiencing what you expected? 

As the baby boomers creep closer and closer to ...

An article in today’s newspaper grabbed my attention. The article was entitled “Economy Doesn’t Deter Dream” and it discussed a survey that shows Americans still want to own homes. It sparked my interest because of a conversation I had over the weekend with my wife, Gina. It’s actually a conversation that takes place a couple of times each year…usually on a Sunday afternoon.

You ...

The news media has been full of stories lately how the bull market in bonds is coming to an end. Interest rates have been at record lows for the last couple of years, and there is really only one way for them to go...and that would be higher. Since the price of bonds move in the opposite direction of interest rates, we would expect to see bonds lose value. The media has run story after story about the "experts" ...

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our daily activities and plans that we can easily miss the really important things. I almost missed something really important this weekend. Lucky for me, I didn’t.

For some crazy reason, my 18-year old daughter came up with the idea that she wanted to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Now, I did ...

Sometimes an investment idea just doesn’t feel right. This article discusses one of those ideas. An investment that has been becoming more popular, and a bit more mainstream, over the last couple of years is known as Stranger-Owned Life Insurance (SOLI). In a nutshell, SOLI is when an investor, or a group of investors, offers upfront cash to a person in poor health. The investors cash in when the insured dies, collecting the death benefit from the insurance company. ...