Save Social Security for later, when you need it most
I think we’ve been looking at Social Security retirement benefits all wrong. In the long-running debate about when to take Social Security — as early as age 62 or as late as age 70 — the focus has been on...
High Yield Rewards Underwhelming
Investors have now been faced with a long period of very low yields on high-quality bonds. As a result, and as a consequence of the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policy, many investors have chosen to pursue higher yields by taking...
Avoid Investment Depression
As the holidays conclude and the calendar turns into a new year, depression can become an all-too-real possibility. After all, the daylight hours are shorter, and what seems like the longest and coldest (at least in some places) stretch of...
Learning to Let Go of Financial Peer Pressure
Over the years, I’ve noticed that moment when each of my children started caring about what other people think of them. One by one, I’ve watched as the opinions of others become a big deal in their own decision-making. As...
A Look at Equity Performance in 2015
We just completed the second consecutive year where U.S. large-cap stocks outperformed most other asset classes, including U.S. small stocks, U.S. value stocks and international stocks. This development has led some investors to wonder whether diversification still works. We believe...
The Core of Wall Street Is Rotten
I remember feeling repulsed when I first read that Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of its proprietary drug, Daraprim, by 5,000 percent. This increase caused the price of each pill to go from $13.50 to $750....
The Truth About Credit Premiums
Interest rates, which have sat at or near historical lows during the past seven years, have led many investors to seek additional yield in the form of credit risk. The recent trend, and its popularity, gives us an opportunity to...
Putting a Price on Fun
A few years ago, my wife and I considered buying a boat. We both grew up water-skiing on the lakes here in Utah, and some of my best memories involve being on the water. I was talking about this with...
