We have been following one of our favorite portfolio managers for more than 20 years. Bob Doll was the chief investment officer and lead portfolio manager for Merrill Lynch asset management when we started in the business back in 1998. Every year Bob produces his 10 predictions for the next year, and we use it as a guide as to what we can expect in the upcoming year. Bob has track record of better than 70% and in our business that is an unbelievable batting average. This week we bring to you Bo… View More
Dear Santa, We were largely good investors this year, remembering always and everywhere one of the cardinal rules of investing – “Don’t fight the Fed” either when it is easing or most especially when it’s tightening. We stuck with Energy and basic materials stocks. Ironically, we made more money on our longs than we did our shorts in a bear market. This was largely due to the lack of discipline and violating another investment bromide – never let a profit turn into a loss. After all… View More
The Fed downshifted to smaller rate hikes but isn’t close to done. In contrast to the 75 basis point rate hikes at each of the last four meetings, the Federal Reserve raised short-term rates by only 50 bps YESTERDAY, as expected. However, the Fed made it clear in its projections and at the press conference that it is tilted toward further rate hikes in the months ahead and more rate hikes than the markets have been pricing in. Today’s Fed statement was virtually identical to the one in No… View More
In January 2020 President Biden entered office and declared he was going to change the energy policy in America at a record pace. We were going green baby and Biden was the man to take us there in record time. Then a few months later in March of 2020 when the markets thought the world was coming to an end because of Covid-19 and the markets lost more than 50% of its value in a matter of weeks, one economic sector caught our eye. The energy sector has long been a bellwether but had not performed … View More
Below we have outlined a list of reminders as you consider your options for Annual Gifting. Don't Forget to Give to Charity As the end of the year and the holiday season approach, we will all see an uptick in the number of charitable solicitations arriving in our mailboxes and by email. Since some charities sell their contributor lists to other charities, frequent contributors may find themselves besieged by requests from all sorts of charities with which they are not familiar. Watch Out … View More