Long-time readers and listeners know that I am an active manager of passive “Index ETFs.” I favor exchange-traded index vehicles because the diversification comes with low expenses, exceptional tax-efficiency and intra-day liquidity. The media have regularly inquired why I rarely endorse the use of “Active ETFs.” Â For one thing, these funds involve more frequent trading, creating [...] Continue Reading...
“I’ve never seen THIS in 34 years of investing,” quipped media personality Jim Cramer on Monday. What was Mr. Cramer referring to? For the most part, he expressed excitement over the stock market’s ability to reward stocks of companies that missed earnings expectations as well as to reward those that beat expectations by not taking [...] Continue Reading...
Extraordinary rallies off bear market bottoms are typical. Bullish run-ups in March of 2003 as well as March of 2009 registered enviable unrealized gains of 35% and 65% respectively; each advance experienced little resistance for roughly 9-10 months. Powerful moves off minor corrections are less typical, if not downright suspicious. Investors in the S&P 500 SPDR [...] Continue Reading...
Sometimes, when the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve speaks, my diaphragm pushes on my lungs hard enough to inhibit breathing. It’s not that I don’t admire Ben Bernanke on a variety of levels. It’s just hard to believe that a man of remarkable intelligence is serious when he says, “In light of the current [...] Continue Reading...
Right now, the good folks at Morningstar view Low Volatility ETFs as too expensive. The analysts at the investment evaluation giant believe that investors should focus on mega-cap brand name corporations instead — companies that may have more reasonable prices relative to earnings and/or fair value estimates. Mega-cap ETFs include assets like Guggenheim Russell Top 50 (XLG) [...] Continue Reading...
One of the most prominent names in perma-bear predicting, Nouriel Roubini, just advised that you buy stocks for a period of about 2 years. At that time, the professor expects a global economic depression to rock the world markets. There’s a great deal of irony in hearing “Dr. Doom” discuss riding a stock wave higher through [...] Continue Reading...
On Monday, April 29, the S&P 500 may close at an all-time record peak. Yet very few folks seem to be talking about “selling high, and buying low.” If anything, a number of respectable analysts cheerily predict that any efforts to sell into market strength in May will be met quickly with a steady demand [...] Continue Reading...
Half of the largest U.S. corporations are missing revenue targets this earnings season. Non-cyclical sectors from health care to consumer staples are beating the pants of economic growth standouts like technology and energy. Trading volume is noticeably larger on down days than on up days. Treasury bonds are notching new 2013 peaks on safe-haven purchasing. [...] Continue Reading...
There are moments in time when I get tired of hammering on a theme. For example, on April 1, I penned the article, Selecting Safer Growth and Income ETFs for the 2nd Quarter Pullback. The commentary made the simple case for shifting to sectors that do not exhibit a great deal of economic cyclicality. After [...] Continue Reading...
The relative strength of the primary U.S. benchmarks — the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 — distorts the true picture for risk assets today. In fact, we do not even need to look closely to see the cracks all along the wall. For example, the most important metal to the world’s economy appears destined for [...] Continue Reading...
