Blog Posts

Over the years we’ve seen exceptionally volatile markets during certain periods. 1929 and 2008 were fundamentally brought on by debt crises. Discerning sophisticated investors could have done the calculations to understand that there was a lot of debt coming due that would not be paid back. They could have adjusted their positions accordingly to benefit […]

Eventual stagflation could be a risk for the economy and markets and one that’s currently vastly under-discounted. We’re in a situation where the central bank has pushed a lot of liquidity into the markets and brought up the financial economy (i.e., prices of financial assets) while the real economy (i.e., aggregate transactions volume in goods […]

The stock market is an important part of the overall functioning of the economic system. The stock market – and capital markets more generally – affect the real economy as they provide the money and credit that the real economy uses to make goods and services. The financial economy leads the real economy. The stock […]

The 401(k) vs. Roth IRA is a common comparison as it pertains to two of the most common tax-advantaged accounts available to US investors.  Like with many things with competing trade-offs, there’s no one right answer. The 401(k) and Roth IRA each have pros and cons. So it’s best to consider one’s individual circumstances and […]

Venture capital and angel investing largely involves investing in startups. While venture capital is a specific type of investing, it’s not exclusive to anyone. Investing in early-stage projects can offer alluring yields and can be part of anyone’s asset mix, even day traders. In the end, it’s a just-make-money game. While some people prefer stocks […]

If you’re considering whether trading is a good pursuit for yourself, good for others (e.g., hiring), or what makes a good trader more generally, we know that some personality types are more attracted to some professions over others. We also know that trader personality types and traits also follow a common thread. If you think […]

Portfolio strategy has taken a big change from normal. Cash and bonds provide extremely low yields and this is having major impacts on where traders and investors go from here and how they construct their portfolios.  The nominal yields on government debt of reserve currency countries is very low to negative. We also know that […]

Diversification through strategic, rather than tactical, asset allocation is the most important thing you can do to win in the markets over the long-run. It’s more important than focusing on what to invest in and more important than focusing on your targeted absolute level of returns. For individual investors who play the markets, most of […]

Reserve currencies are foreign currencies, precious metals, or other reserve assets that are held by countries’ governments, central banks, or central monetary authorities to hold as part of their foreign exchange reserves. Reserve currencies are used to save in, transact in, stabilize one’s own currency, or use for investments. They are often called safe-haven currencies. […]

Whether you trade stock indexes, pick individual stocks, trade ETFs, or have other equity exposures in your portfolio, you may consider ways to hedge equity risk to reduce potential losses. Stocks are a volatile asset class and common shareholders are the most junior stakeholders in a business. A stock conveys a share of ownership in a […]