For the past two months if you asked most investors what they feared most, they would have said the economic impact caused by political infighting. And why wouldn’t they? During a government shutdown, small businesses can’t apply for loans to expand. Clinical drug trials are put on hold. New oil and gas drilling permits don’t get approved. And both consumers and companies are reluctant to spend in periods of economic uncertainty.#-ad_banner-# Before Congress arrived at a last-minute deal, the impact of Washington’s dysfunction concerned me. But as an investor, it didn’t scare me out of the market. Maybe… Read More

For the past two months if you asked most investors what they feared most, they would have said the economic impact caused by political infighting. And why wouldn’t they? During a government shutdown, small businesses can’t apply for loans to expand. Clinical drug trials are put on hold. New oil and gas drilling permits don’t get approved. And both consumers and companies are reluctant to spend in periods of economic uncertainty.#-ad_banner-# Before Congress arrived at a last-minute deal, the impact of Washington’s dysfunction concerned me. But as an investor, it didn’t scare me out of the market. Maybe it’s because I’ve been investing for more than 30 years now. I’ve had money in the market through almost every conceivable economic and financial scenario — historically high and low interest rates, higher and lower tax rates, recessions and overheated economies. What I’ve learned is that there are always ways to minimize losses and maximize gains when conditions change. But there is one thing that does scare me: People aren’t investing for their retirement. The annual Wells Fargo Retirement Survey of middle class Americans almost always makes me nervous. Here are some highlights from the 2012 survey… — 30% of… Read More

For any of you who have read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” stories, you know the famous detective uses the power of observation, deductive reasoning, and extensive research to solve complex mysteries. But the fictional detective also occasionally relied on a group of street children that the public mostly… Read More

The story was picked up by the major news sources a few years ago as a “cute” human interest feature. You might have seen the headlines like “How a Secretary Made and Gave Away $7 Million.” But for me, this wasn’t some light news piece. This was a story that resonated deeply with me. I didn’t know Grace Groner, from Lake Forest, Ill. From the stories, she was a woman who lived frugally. Her passing was of interest because her three shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) grew into more than 100,000… Read More

The story was picked up by the major news sources a few years ago as a “cute” human interest feature. You might have seen the headlines like “How a Secretary Made and Gave Away $7 Million.” But for me, this wasn’t some light news piece. This was a story that resonated deeply with me. I didn’t know Grace Groner, from Lake Forest, Ill. From the stories, she was a woman who lived frugally. Her passing was of interest because her three shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) grew into more than 100,000 shares through decades of dividend reinvestment. In total, her estate became worth roughly $7 million. #-ad_banner-#And while I didn’t know Grace Groner, I did know Lillian Calistri. The last time I saw Aunt Lillian was in 1990. I remember that a nephew had the misfortune of addressing her as “Lillian.” She promptly looked us all in the eye and said, “You will continue to call me Aunt Lillian.” We were all over 25 years old at the time, but in Lillian’s world, adulthood was no excuse for bad manners. Aunt Lillian taught home… Read More

The story was picked up by the major news sources a few years ago as a “cute” human interest feature. You might have seen the headlines like “How a Secretary Made and Gave Away $7 Million.” But for me, this wasn’t some light news piece. This was… Read More

I have a chart that I want to show you. It’s nothing complex or hard to understand. In fact, I take pride in how simple it is to read. You’ll be surprised that the information shown in this chart is the result of just under four years of work; but… Read More