President Donald Trump is perhaps the most polarizing U.S. president of all time. Despite his sometimes-questionable rhetoric, one thing has remained constant throughout his campaign and presidency: Trump is 100% in support of American business. Throughout the election and into his time in office, Trump’s pro-business stance has given confidence to investors, who have sent the stock market soaring higher. Less than a year into his term, indexes are sitting near all-time highs and bullish sentiment is bursting at the seams.  Among the most talked about plans of the new administration is tax reform. While large corporations stand to gain… Read More

President Donald Trump is perhaps the most polarizing U.S. president of all time. Despite his sometimes-questionable rhetoric, one thing has remained constant throughout his campaign and presidency: Trump is 100% in support of American business. Throughout the election and into his time in office, Trump’s pro-business stance has given confidence to investors, who have sent the stock market soaring higher. Less than a year into his term, indexes are sitting near all-time highs and bullish sentiment is bursting at the seams.  Among the most talked about plans of the new administration is tax reform. While large corporations stand to gain the most from the potential changes, everyday investors will likely also benefit.  What To Expect From Trump’s Tax Plan 1. Higher Dividends Income investors rejoice! One of the most appealing effects of Trump’s proposed tax reform will be higher dividends across the board.  #-ad_banner-#The President has stated that he wants to slash the corporate rate all the way down to 20% from the current 35%. Primarily designed to incentivize corporations from fleeing the United States in search of lower rates, the tax plan represents $1.8 trillion in tax savings over the next decade. This inflow of wealth will… Read More

When I’m introduced to new people and they learn that I’m in the financial publishing business, it’s always interesting to see what their follow-up question or comment will be. Some ask me for a stock tip or want my take on the latest fad in the market. Others, assuming they’re interested, like to talk about Warren Buffett.  —Sponsored Link— Silicon Valley Exec: 3 Ways To Get Rich On Self-Driving Cars  Most investors don’t realize how quickly self-driving cars are advancing. In fact, by the end of 2017, fully self-driving cars could reach the mass market. Read More

When I’m introduced to new people and they learn that I’m in the financial publishing business, it’s always interesting to see what their follow-up question or comment will be. Some ask me for a stock tip or want my take on the latest fad in the market. Others, assuming they’re interested, like to talk about Warren Buffett.  —Sponsored Link— Silicon Valley Exec: 3 Ways To Get Rich On Self-Driving Cars  Most investors don’t realize how quickly self-driving cars are advancing. In fact, by the end of 2017, fully self-driving cars could reach the mass market. This is the hottest trend in technology right now. And if you act quickly, you could make a fortune. I’ve used my decades of experience as a Silicon Valley executive to identify three key self-driving stocks that could make you a fortune this year. I’m always glad when people want to talk about Buffett — especially novice investors. It’s a sign of wisdom to be sure.  It’s easy to like Buffett. You may not like his politics, you may think the annual shareholder meeting has turned into a circus, but I tend to think anybody who… Read More

Every investor feels the pain and pleasure of stock price moves. Even the smallest move up or down can lead otherwise rational people to trade based more on emotions than facts. While a few disciplined investors stick to objective rules, the vast majority impulsively react to market swings. The key to successful stock market investing is to be one of those disciplined investors.  Systematic investing is a time-proven method of extracting money from the stock market. Logical, established systems for making buy/sell decisions remove an investor’s emotions from the equation. Systems can range from simple calculations used by individuals to… Read More

Every investor feels the pain and pleasure of stock price moves. Even the smallest move up or down can lead otherwise rational people to trade based more on emotions than facts. While a few disciplined investors stick to objective rules, the vast majority impulsively react to market swings. The key to successful stock market investing is to be one of those disciplined investors.  Systematic investing is a time-proven method of extracting money from the stock market. Logical, established systems for making buy/sell decisions remove an investor’s emotions from the equation. Systems can range from simple calculations used by individuals to the ultra-complex, computer-driven algorithms employed by hedge funds, institutions, and professional traders. While financial advisors and other money managers have used algorithmic decision-making software for some time, it has only been since 2008 that regular individual investors have been able to access this software on their own. Known as robo-advisors, these automated investing platforms for the masses have become wildly popular over the last few years. Depending on your own susceptibility to impulsive trading, robo-advisors may make sense for a portion or even your entire portfolio.  Here are three things you need to know about robo-advisors. #-ad_banner-#​1. They Are Not… Read More

Can the stock market go any higher?  This is the number-one question I’ve been hearing from investors recently. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, considered by many to be the most important market barometer, is higher by roughly 20% over the last year. An all-time high of 22,179 posted just a few weeks ago triggered massive bullish fever. The question is, will 22,179 continue to mark the all-time high for the next several years or will the bulls continue to push stocks into the stratosphere?  #-ad_banner-#The evidence is saying that the bulls are wrong and 22,179 will be the historical high… Read More

Can the stock market go any higher?  This is the number-one question I’ve been hearing from investors recently. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, considered by many to be the most important market barometer, is higher by roughly 20% over the last year. An all-time high of 22,179 posted just a few weeks ago triggered massive bullish fever. The question is, will 22,179 continue to mark the all-time high for the next several years or will the bulls continue to push stocks into the stratosphere?  #-ad_banner-#The evidence is saying that the bulls are wrong and 22,179 will be the historical high for the DJIA through the end of 2018. To be clear, the DJIA will go higher in the future. In fact, it will go much higher over the next decade. However, for now, the top has posted.  Remember, the S&P 500 is higher by over 250% since the 2009 bottom. We are in the midst of an almost 100-month advance across the major stock market indexes, and valuations are pushing traditional limits. My prediction is based on a combination of five factors that mark the top of the market. Any one of these signs is a bearish signal, but the… Read More

As markets continue to rise, volatility has been near record lows. But in the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen glimpses of a return to volatility — and a possible pullback in the works.  People forget what that’s like. They get lulled into a sense of complacency when the stock market — and their own personal portfolio — is gradually pacing up each and every day. But remember: this isn’t normal. A pullback is bound to happen sooner or later. A full-blown “correction” (when the market drops 10% or more) is completely normal. That’s why I recently interviewed our very… Read More

As markets continue to rise, volatility has been near record lows. But in the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen glimpses of a return to volatility — and a possible pullback in the works.  People forget what that’s like. They get lulled into a sense of complacency when the stock market — and their own personal portfolio — is gradually pacing up each and every day. But remember: this isn’t normal. A pullback is bound to happen sooner or later. A full-blown “correction” (when the market drops 10% or more) is completely normal. That’s why I recently interviewed our very own Jared Levy to get his take on the market, what’s going on in Washington D.C., his strategy, and what kind of trades he’s making recently. What follows is part one of a conversation we had within StreetAuthority Insider — a free newsletter reserved for premium StreetAuthority subscribers only. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow… —Sponsored Link— Small Group Uncovers Millionaire’s Simple Stock-Picking Strategy With no Wall Street experience, a chemical engineer at DuPont accidentally uncovered a powerful pattern that often appears just before a stock’s share price doubles, triples, or even quadruples — seemingly… Read More

By just about any measure, one of the hardest things for an investor to do is decide when the time is ripe to start selling some, or all, of a portfolio. For me, that time has arrived. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not selling my entire portfolio and moving to cash. But it is time to sell some of my holdings because, for me, the market is getting into dangerous territory.  And I’m becoming more convinced a correction is coming. Here’s why… #-ad_banner-#The Federal Reserve has acted stupidly in keeping interest rates at artificially low levels for such a… Read More

By just about any measure, one of the hardest things for an investor to do is decide when the time is ripe to start selling some, or all, of a portfolio. For me, that time has arrived. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not selling my entire portfolio and moving to cash. But it is time to sell some of my holdings because, for me, the market is getting into dangerous territory.  And I’m becoming more convinced a correction is coming. Here’s why… #-ad_banner-#The Federal Reserve has acted stupidly in keeping interest rates at artificially low levels for such a long time. And because real long-term interest rates remain artificially low, any sudden bond market sneeze could blow the lid off the stock market. You see, should the bubble burst in the bond market, rates are likely to rocket higher over a relatively short time. Now, you may ask what might precipitate such an event? Janet Yellen has made known her desire to unwind the Fed’s balance sheet. I say “amen” to that. But doing so at a time when interest rates are rising is fraught with danger. That’s because when the central bank withdraws liquidity by selling its bond… Read More

After a 25%-plus move higher this year, many investors are starting to get nervous about the odds of additional upside in emerging-market equities. The market, however, is sending far different signals. The upward surge is far from over. In fact, it may still be in its infancy. There are seven important factors telling me to hold on to my bullish expectations for the sector.  Why I Think Emerging Markets Are Only Going Up 1. Economic Growth Developed markets are experiencing a growth slowdown while emerging markets are in a long-term expansion phase.  While developed markets are forecasted… Read More

After a 25%-plus move higher this year, many investors are starting to get nervous about the odds of additional upside in emerging-market equities. The market, however, is sending far different signals. The upward surge is far from over. In fact, it may still be in its infancy. There are seven important factors telling me to hold on to my bullish expectations for the sector.  Why I Think Emerging Markets Are Only Going Up 1. Economic Growth Developed markets are experiencing a growth slowdown while emerging markets are in a long-term expansion phase.  While developed markets are forecasted to grow by just 2% in 2017, emerging markets are projected to hit 4.5% growth this year. The growth is predicted to climb nearly 5% in 2018.  #-ad_banner-#The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) create 22% of the global GDP, a figure that continues to climb. An expected 80% of total world GDP growth will come from emerging markets over the next five years, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  India and China’s portion of world GDP has grown by six times since 1970. The G7 nations’ share of world trade has declined from 50% to 30% during… Read More

I’ve been doing a lot of reading these days about my own generation: the millennials. While I’m at the older end of the cohort, and don’t necessarily identify as one, even I will admit that we’re a tough bunch to figure out. You’ve heard the stereotypes — and many of them are true. We’re notoriously fickle, embrace irony at every opportunity, and were colored markedly by technology (as well as the financial crisis). But here’s what you might not know… the millennial population is now 75.4 million, according to the Pew Research Center. That group (born roughly between 1980 and 2000, depending… Read More

I’ve been doing a lot of reading these days about my own generation: the millennials. While I’m at the older end of the cohort, and don’t necessarily identify as one, even I will admit that we’re a tough bunch to figure out. You’ve heard the stereotypes — and many of them are true. We’re notoriously fickle, embrace irony at every opportunity, and were colored markedly by technology (as well as the financial crisis). But here’s what you might not know… the millennial population is now 75.4 million, according to the Pew Research Center. That group (born roughly between 1980 and 2000, depending on the source) now outnumber the 74.9 million baby boomers (late 1940s to 1964). Given this data — especially the fact that older millennials (like myself) are in their early 30s (prime years of consumption) — companies have been trying to wrap their heads around just what it is that makes us tick. There’s big money in that, after all… From my perspective, here’s how the media tends to portray millennials (maybe you’ve found yourself thinking this, too): — Very tech-savvy. — Hate being labeled. — Easily bored, distracted, crave instant gratification, and constantly on the move. — Waiting longer to get married,… Read More

The Republican Party’s attempts to “fix” the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have been nothing short of disastrous. And if it weren’t for the seriousness of the issue, it would be downright hilarious. Whether you agree the government has a role in healthcare or not, it should be clear to everyone that the federal government has no idea how to solve the myriad problems they themselves create. Incompetent Washington bureaucrats have only made health care worse in America. And sadly, these same bureaucrats will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. But their incompetence isn’t just relegated to… Read More

The Republican Party’s attempts to “fix” the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have been nothing short of disastrous. And if it weren’t for the seriousness of the issue, it would be downright hilarious. Whether you agree the government has a role in healthcare or not, it should be clear to everyone that the federal government has no idea how to solve the myriad problems they themselves create. Incompetent Washington bureaucrats have only made health care worse in America. And sadly, these same bureaucrats will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. But their incompetence isn’t just relegated to the healthcare debate.  The problems in healthcare mirror the problems of Social Security (OASDI) — although social security’s unfunded liabilities are orders of magnitude the size and scope of healthcare. Unfortunately, the end-result will be the same. —Sponsored Link— Big Tobacco’s Punishment: A Long Time Coming In November of 1998, the “Big Four of Big Tobacco” were sued for using misleading advertisements and manipulating scientific research. And in a landmark settlement they agreed to pay a historic sum of money in perpetuity to those affected. We estimate they’ve been paying out about $686 million a… Read More

Baby steps.  This is how most investors start, with a smallish sum of money and only a few positions.  Over time, these holdings appreciate, and investors put additional money to work. The portfolio grows, and with that, so does its complexity. Sooner or later, many investors begin to feel the need to get organized. And for that, they need to understand the basic rules of portfolio building.  Of course, as a finance professional, I think this should be filed under the category “the sooner, the better.” Investing is a serious affair, and it’s good to follow the basics from the… Read More

Baby steps.  This is how most investors start, with a smallish sum of money and only a few positions.  Over time, these holdings appreciate, and investors put additional money to work. The portfolio grows, and with that, so does its complexity. Sooner or later, many investors begin to feel the need to get organized. And for that, they need to understand the basic rules of portfolio building.  Of course, as a finance professional, I think this should be filed under the category “the sooner, the better.” Investing is a serious affair, and it’s good to follow the basics from the beginning. But it’s never too late to start.  The first decision any investor should make is all about asset allocation. The exact portfolio allocation for stocks, bonds and cash should largely depend on an investor’s own time horizon and risk tolerance. General guidelines can be applied , however, nobody knows your situation better than you do, and the process of determining where you want your money to go is much more personal than any newsletter allows.  —Recommended Link— Make This Move For A Millionaire Retirement If you want a millionaire retirement, you need to check this move out. It… Read More