Blog

What goes up must come down. This is was painfully true for markets during the peak of the dot-com bubble. When we take a closer look, we can start to see some very big differences between recent bear markets and today's. 

It is considered the worst economic recession since the Great Depression; the financial calamity that was 2008 serves as a reminder of just how bleak things can appear in the US economy and financial markets. 

Interest rates in America are still historically low. While that may be helpful in stimulating an economy, it is not so helpful if you are trying to generate income in retirement.

As in most areas of life, the key to a successful long term investment strategy is consistency. While this statement may seem obvious, too many investors find themselves breaking this fundemental rule by reacting to market volatility, or reducing their contributions when times are hard.

Every potential retiree's needs and wants can be so different, therefore it is important not to make too many assumptions about what retirement actually is or should look like. For most people, retirement is just doing more of what you like, and less of what you don't.

It can be difficult to jettison emotion when it comes to investing. History is littered with poor financial decision making as a result of forgetting that emotion is the foe of the long term investor.

When it comes to the management of your money, many would agree that this responsibility should be placed in the hands of a professional. However, the prerequisite to become a financial advisor is passing a licensing test, with no formal higher education required. Can all financial advisors, therefore, be considered "professionals"?

Pragmatism is a school of philosophy that examines truth through utility. For example, how useful a belief is to you may be more important than whether or not the belief is in fact true. Financial models can be viewed in a similar way: how useful is your financial plan?

It is easy to become nearsighted in the world of finance and economics, especially with so much information flowing through the 24 hour news cycle. I look to books to maintain perspective on our industry, and in this latest blog post I wanted to share some titles that I believe we could all benefit from taking in.

Over the years there have been calls for the US to return to a gold standard. But how realistic is this, and what were ther easons we abandoned it in the first place?