Our investment thesis laid out this time last year was one of caution. We were receiving mixed signals from the market and economies. On one hand equity markets were coming off one of the best years in its history in 2009 and fixed income markets were hitting new highs too. The economy was still on...Read More
As you probably know, I like to write to communicate my thoughts. However, recently I have been suffering from writer’s block. I think it’s because I am in observation mode about the economy, government policy and business; trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Everywhere I go I ask business owners, “How’s business?” The...Read More
We are pleased with our performance for the third quarter 2010. Both stocks and bonds enjoyed gains during the quarter. Our portfolios participated nicely in these gains but with much less risk than the overall market. Stocks had such a great third quarter that they are largely responsible for the progress our portfolios have made...Read More
As we have been writing for almost two years now, we expect the global economic recovery to be a slow process marked by occasional periods of extreme volatility. Our friends at PIMCO, the world’s largest bond manager, have named this “The New Normal.” The new normal is an economy that is in the process of...Read More
The second quarter can be best characterized by extreme volatility. Despite all of the volatility, our portfolios held up remarkably well, when compared to the market. Most of our portfolios were down in the 1% to 5% range compared to an almost 12% drop in the S&P 500 stock market index during the second quarter. We view...Read More
My son Steve and I recently spent a week in Chicago meeting and interviewing investment managers at The Sincere & Co. Annual Education Symposium and the annual Morningstar Conference for Investment Advisors. This trip gave us the opportunity to have lengthy meetings and several dinners with managers of funds we currently hold in our portfolios. Most...Read More
The first quarter of 2010 portfolio performance was very good, with U.S. stocks enjoying healthy gains. We’ve had a great run over the past five quarters, and investors looking back on strong returns deserve to feel good, especially given the level of nerve that was required to earn them in the aftermath of a very...Read More
It’s unavoidable! Day in and day out since the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 we have been hearing and reading about the budget deficit, stimulus packages and repeated extensions of unemployment insurance. These programs are no longer expressed in millions or billions of dollars. In fact, they seem to have skipped the billion-dollar mark...Read More
