Commentary

“Economists are often asked to predict what the economy is going to do. But economic predictions require predicting what politicians are going to do – and nothing is more unpredictable.” – Thomas Sowell, American Economist There has been ongoing debate about the impact of import tariffs on inflation. The common assumption is that tariffs lead […]

Bursting Bubbles and Broken Brains: The Madness of the South Sea Scheme by Timothy J. Videnka, CFA, CFP® “Bubbles, bright as ever Hope Drew from fancy – or from soap; Bright as e’er the South Sea sent From its frothy element! See!—But hark my time is out — Now, like some great water-spout, Scaterr’d by […]

How To Evaluate Today’s Housing Market By Michael E. DeMassa, CFA, CFP®, AEP® “Remember, cash is a fact, profit is an opinion.” – Al Rappaport, American economist, educator and author In early 2012, Warren Buffett mentioned in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick that he would buy up a couple hundred thousand single-family homes if […]

New Asset Classes or Market Mirage? A Closer Look at Modern Investments by Timothy J. Videnka, CFA, CFP® “You can measure opportunity with the same yardstick that measures the risk involved. They go together.” – Earl Nightingale An asset class is a group of financial instruments that exhibit similar characteristics, behave similarly in the marketplace, […]

7 Key Points to Ponder Before Delaying Until Age 70 By Michael E. DeMassa, CFA, CFP® In contrast to what most academic papers suggest, when it came time to advise my mother on her Social Security benefits, the decision was clear. Throughout my career, I had read numerous financial planning articles crunching hypothetical numbers indicating […]

Domination, Concentration, and Risk by Timothy J. Videnka, CFA, CFP® “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” – Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra As widely followed broad stock market indices notched new all-time highs with regularity this year, we thought it would be important to, once again, highlight some common misperceptions regarding a well-known index. To […]

Extend and Pretend: Part Deux by Timothy J. Videnka, CFA, CFP® “Trees don’t grow to the sky” – German Proverb As interest rates have risen over the course of the last 24 months and the likelihood of interest rate cuts in 2024 has decreased considerably, one of the more interest rate sensitive sectors of the […]

Reviewing A Math Lesson IRL (In Real Life) by Timothy J. Videnka, CFA, CFP® “Obvious’ is the most dangerous word in Mathematics.” – Eric T. Bell, Mathematician Historically, the stock market has gone up approximately 70% of the time, in calendar year terms. During periods when it has not risen, there have been some major […]

The KISS Investment Principle: Keep It Simple & Sound by Michael E. DeMassa, CFA, CFP® Yes, the last “s” is modified from the original KISS principle – “Keep it simple, stupid!” – that was first noted by the U.S. Navy’s “Project KISS” in 1960 and popularized in the 1970s. This slight change should keep me […]

The Inflation Fight Continues “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” – Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) The Federal Reserve continues its fight to bring inflation down to its two percent target on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Recently, Jerome Powell and his flock of Fed governors have turned to using words to influence markets. Sayings like […]