If you had more money to invest, would you get better investment results?  It’s tempting to think so, and you might be intrigued about the research on exactly that question.  3 top professors did the study, and here’s what they found. Steady there, Eddie… Let’s jump to the study’s conclusion.  No, the rich are not smarter investors.  They make the…

What’s it like starting from zero and operating a small investment boutique, competing against the giants of Wall Street?  Challenging yes, but far from impossible. As Malcom Gladwell describes in David and Goliath, a guidebook for newcomers, underdogs and entrepreneurs, there are real advantages in being small. Gladwell’s David and Goliath “uncovers the hidden rules that shape the balance between the…

It’s easy to blame the monolithic brands of Wall Street for selling us products poorly suited to our needs, or charging fees that empty our pockets to fill their own. It’s easy to blame them for enticing us with hot stock tips, slick hedge funds, exclusive private equity issues, and once-in-a-lifetime IPOs, none of which may be right for us….

How far for how long? It’s been a great year for US stocks, with indexes broadly up 25 percent or more. As the Dow hovers around 16,000, some pundits proclaim “it can’t go up any farther” or “sell everything now!” Are they right?  Let’s take a fact-based look. The long, high road We all know that US stocks have gone…

It’s easy to think of inflation as financial weather – something we must endure and can’t control. While it’s true we can’t control the prices that grocers, automakers and landlords charge, we can, and should, control what we spend. We’re all familiar with the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. It tracks the cost of groceries, rent, utilities and other goods…

Bitcoin: a currency wrapped in a riddle We don’t expect interest in Bitcoin to wane anytime soon. With a future price that could go to $20,000 or $0, it’s the ultimate speculative vehicle. It might even be the perfect holiday gift for the person who has everything and might be happy with a little bit of nothing. Any discussion of…

This week’s article is written by guest author, Steve Mott. Steve is a long time editor for Osbon on the Money. Individual investors are pouring money into the stock market again.  It’s been a long wait.  Many bailed out during the financial crisis at its worst, and have been waiting for it to be “safe” to invest again. Now with…

The People of Plenty Is there anything more delicious than snooping on the financial lives of the super-rich?  You can do it by looking here at the aggregate tax returns of the 400 top earners in the United States, sometimes called the Fortunate 400. It’s an interesting glimpse into a world few can ever experience firsthand. Average annual income of…