The idea to take on more risk has been sacrosanct among investors since the Dutch East India Co. issued the first publicly available shares more than 400 years ago. To this day, most financial advisors build their client portfolios around a combination of stocks, bonds and commodities, depending on how much these clients need at retirement and how much risk they’re are willing to take.#-ad_banner-# At least, that is the idea behind most… Read More

The idea to take on more risk has been sacrosanct among investors since the Dutch East India Co. issued the first publicly available shares more than 400 years ago. To this day, most financial advisors build their client portfolios around a combination of stocks, bonds and commodities, depending on how much these clients need at retirement and how much risk they’re are willing to take.#-ad_banner-# At least, that is the idea behind most investments. But if you want a higher return, then you have to take more risk. A “safe” asset such as the 10-Year Treasury bond, for example, won’t do a lot for your portfolio. It’s known to be “risk-free,” because it is assumed that the U.S. government will always pay its debts. The yield on the… Read More

Right now, Corporate America has a huge problem on its hands. I’m not talking about another banking crisis, real estate crash or hedge fund manager running a Ponzi scheme… And I’m not talking about any sort of ominous regulations being handed down by the U.S. government, either. I’m not even talking about the growing levels of debt being accumulated by Uncle Sam each and every day — not to mention the lack of progress from our leaders in Washington in finding a… Read More

Right now, Corporate America has a huge problem on its hands. I’m not talking about another banking crisis, real estate crash or hedge fund manager running a Ponzi scheme… And I’m not talking about any sort of ominous regulations being handed down by the U.S. government, either. I’m not even talking about the growing levels of debt being accumulated by Uncle Sam each and every day — not to mention the lack of progress from our leaders in Washington in finding a solution to fix it. Actually, the “problem” I’m about to tell you about is really a once-in-a-lifetime investing opportunity. The problem? Corporate America has spent the past few years hoarding money like it was going out of style, effectively creating what I call a “Dividend Vault.” It started back at the height of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Acting out of fear, companies started hoarding cash as banks stopped lending… Read More

Is Mexico the new China? Until recently, China was the “go-to” manufacturer of choice. Thanks largely to the country’s low wages, companies across the industrialized world were able to have their products produced cheaper in China than at home — or in Mexico. The advantage known as the “China price”… Read More

Is Mexico the new China? Until recently, China was the “go-to” manufacturer of choice. Thanks largely to the country’s low wages, companies across the industrialized world were able to have their products produced cheaper in China than at home — or in Mexico. The advantage known as the “China price” still sends tremors through hometown manufacturing facilities in much of the West. But during the past decade the playing field has tilted.#-ad_banner-# Ten years ago, Chinese wages averaged a quarter of those in Mexico. These days, according to The Boston Consulting Group, China’s average manufacturing wage tops Mexico’s, when… Read More

Is Mexico the new China? Until recently, China was the “go-to” manufacturer of choice. Thanks largely to the country’s low wages, companies across the industrialized world were able to have their products produced cheaper in China than at home — or in Mexico. The advantage known as the “China price” still sends tremors through hometown manufacturing facilities in much of the West. But during the past decade the playing field has tilted.#-ad_banner-# Ten years ago, Chinese wages averaged a quarter of those in Mexico. These days, according to The Boston Consulting Group, China’s average manufacturing wage tops Mexico’s, when productivity differences are taken into account. Add to that the proximity to the world’s largest economy — an economy that’s again showing life — and the China price advantage loses even more luster. After all, shipping and travel between the United States and Mexico can be done at a fraction of the time and cost of doing business halfway around the world. Cultural barriers, moreover, are usually less of a hindrance between friendly neighbors than friendly nemeses. Now, I’m not saying China is looking over its shoulder just… Read More

Many successful investors will be in for a shock during upcoming tax seasons. There is nothing worse than having a banner year in the financial markets, then having to give a large portion of it to Uncle Sam… Read More

Many successful investors will be in for a shock during upcoming tax seasons. There is nothing worse than having a banner year in the financial markets, then having to give a large portion of it to Uncle Sam in the form of taxes. Frankly, I’m concerned that the pain is going to be worse for winning investors who have failed to prepare themselves for the new era of higher tax rates.#-ad_banner-# Here’s what the new tax laws… Read More

Many successful investors will be in for a shock during upcoming tax seasons. There is nothing worse than having a banner year in the financial markets, then having to give a large portion of it to Uncle Sam in the form of taxes. Frankly, I’m concerned that the pain is going to be worse for winning investors who have failed to prepare themselves for the new era of higher tax rates.#-ad_banner-# Here’s what the new tax laws mean to you If you are in the top tax bracket, meaning you earn more than $400,000 (or $450,000 for married couples), then your marginal tax rate will jump to 39.6% and the rate on long-term capital gains and dividend interest will increase five percentage points to 20% for the 2013 tax year. A new 3.8% tax related to the Affordable Care Act (more commonly known as “… Read More

There is a growing and profitable trend happening in the United States. Many investors are unaware it is even happening. If you read Carla Pasternak’s recent article (found here), then you know exactly what I’m talking about.   While everyone seems to be talking about the rebound in single-family housing,… Read More

Most people thought it might never happen, much less happen in five short years. The housing sector is back in the United States. After going through its darkest hour, people are buying houses again and investors are making money from dividends and capital gains. Read More

Utilities stocks occupy a unique niche in the investment world. No one who wants to get rich buying shares of Exelon (NYSE: EXC) or Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is expecting… Read More

There is a growing and profitable trend happening in the United States. Many investors are unaware it is even happening. If you read Carla Pasternak’s recent article (found here), then you know exactly what I’m talking about.   While everyone seems to be talking about the rebound in single-family housing, very few are talking about multi-family housing.    And as Carla has pointed out, that’s a mistake.   Carla explains that while the single-family housing recovery has just started, multi-family apartment housing has been in recovery mode for the past several years. In fact, she says the United States could… Read More

There is a growing and profitable trend happening in the United States. Many investors are unaware it is even happening. If you read Carla Pasternak’s recent article (found here), then you know exactly what I’m talking about.   While everyone seems to be talking about the rebound in single-family housing, very few are talking about multi-family housing.    And as Carla has pointed out, that’s a mistake.   Carla explains that while the single-family housing recovery has just started, multi-family apartment housing has been in recovery mode for the past several years. In fact, she says the United States could soon become a “Renter Nation.” I completely agree with Carla. Right now, positioning your portfolio to capture dividends and growth from the real estate recovery makes total sense.  But if you read my articles, then you may know that I always go a step further.#-ad_banner-# My key takeaways Diversification, even within the same asset class, is a key feature of a well-designed portfolio. Within the housing REIT sector, investors would be wise to have positions in single-family home REITs and… Read More