Insights on markets, emergent trends, history, innovation, risk management, global economics, strategy, policy, and other topics that catch our attention. Inspired by ongoing research, conversations and events. Written and edited by Osbon Capital Management and published every Thursday morning.
"*" indicates required fields
5 Ways to Focus on Financial Quality of Life
It’s easy to reduce your financial world to numbers and dollar signs, but there’s much more to the story than that. Expanding your focus to your Financial Quality of Life lets you approach financial information and decisions with a better understanding of your true opportunities and what they mean for you and your family. Here are five ways to give…
4 Ways To Maintain A Focus On The Long Term
As the first quarter nears an end the inevitable question arises, “How long can the strong Q1 returns go on?” Amid the uncertainty we see many investors holding cash with little interest in taking on risk. This cautious approach means safety in the short term, but perhaps at a big loss of opportunity for the long term. Here are four…
When Is Passive Too Passive?
Regular readers and clients know Osbon Capital Management as an early and continued champion of index investing. Five years ago the distinction between active management and passive indexing was fairly well defined. Passive meant holding a market cap weighted basket of stocks. Active investors practiced stock picking, and some market timing, hoping to avoid the losers and find the winners….
Invest Like A Conservative
When a recent new client signed on with Osbon Capital, he described himself as “a conservative investor.” Because that phrase can mean different things to different people, it was important to discuss what that meant to this individual. What is the goal of conservative investing? What does it look like in practice? What would a conservative investor invest in now? And so on. The discussion inspired me to tackle the topic for this week’s article.
Warren Buffett’s Insight Never Gets Old
On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway released its annual shareholder letter. For investment professionals and BRK aficionados, it’s something to look forward to every year as must-read. The beauty of the letter, penned by Warren Buffett, is how well his comments about Berkshire, one of the world’s most valuable companies, apply to individual investors. Here’s what we learned this year from the 54th annual letter:
A Look At Business Cycle Confidence
The business cycle has gone onward and upward for ten years. That has meant positive returns for investors in equities, debt and real estate alike. The question of when it ends seems to be a perennial question. It’s a question that we hear often from clients, prospects, friends and family. Headlines can be particularly unhelpful as their news model is often reliant on triggering emotional reactions for clicks. To us, it doesn’t look like the cycle ends anytime soon. Here is why:
How To Know A Client
We often start new client conversations by asking a simple and direct question, “What does the ideal investment relationship look like to you?” No two answers have been the same. Whether the individual is most interested in sharing ideas, taxes, trusts and estate, investing or something else, a good advisor actively works to know and understand their client. Here’s what that looks like.
A Late Stage Market Melt-UP
Without doubt the investment year is off to a great start. The stock market in the US is up 8%. January’s return is the best one since 1987. The way things are going we could see a repeat of 2013, one of the best diversified return years ever. What is going right and what could go wrong? Why January is…
House, Home or Investment?
We have made comments before about investing in real estate. This week our entire article is devoted to investment real estate. The goal of allocating money to real estate is largely the same as putting money into stocks. The investor wants growth and income. The similarities end there.
