Mid Year Temperature Check for Today
Looking Ahead to the 2nd Half of the Year
Jun 24, 2020 - John Osbon ( 7 mins to read)
We continue to get mixed news on the market, the economy and the pandemic. Growth stocks are hitting new highs. The US economy is bouncing off the bottom. The pandemic is under control in Massachusetts and out of control in Arizona, Florida, and Texas. What are investor options as we head into the second half of the year? Focus on growth Growth stocks are the clear winners and leaders during ...
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It’s Always A Good Time To Invest In The Future
Jun 16, 2020 - Max Osbon ( 9 mins to read)
2020 has reminded us that change is a constant in life. Change often brings an unpleasant jolt to our nerves. The good news is that we are all adaptable and creative by nature. The more you lean into the future, the easier it is to see the ways that innovation flows around challenges and always seems to find a way to bring us forward, onward and upward. In investing, this applies to the continu...
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Investing During Times of Unrest
The Investment Impact of Riots and Looting
Jun 10, 2020 - John Osbon ( 7 mins to read)
I first became aware of the riots, looting and cities on fire in the Sixties as a teenager in suburban New Jersey. It was very scary then, just as it is scary now. The cause of the unrest then was racial and financial, with an additional anti-war flavor due to Vietnam. I could not make any sense of the destruction. Clearly, going into any big city was a bad idea. Fifty plus years later the same...
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A Plan That Works For The Future
Liability Driven Investing At Work
Jun 3, 2020 - Max Osbon ( 6 mins to read)
Traditional solutions in investment management often start with client questionnaires that try to identify risk preference. The result may include something along the lines of, “I’m a risk taker” or “I’m a risk avoider”. That process, as common as it is, has little relevance to the true needs of a family investment strategy. When an expense is essential, you avoid risk in order to know that you...
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The New Cold War With China
A different kind of war
May 27, 2020 - John Osbon ( 8 mins to read)
The first Cold War was between the United States and the Soviet Union and it lasted from 1947 to 1991. The Next Cold War, also known as the New Cold War, has various starting points. At the earliest, one could say it started with President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Or it started the year China was admitted to the World Trade Organization (2001). Or the year China stopped pegging its curre...
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Income For The New Age
Dividends and Interest Will Be Changing
May 20, 2020 - John Osbon ( 8 mins to read)
The testimony of Fed chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Tuesday have put the two primary supporters of the US economy in the spotlight again. Both said versions of positive phrases like, ‘whatever it takes, more stimulus, and back to work’. Markets anticipated the statements and reacted positively all week. Part of that rally can also be attributed to progress on the...
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The Growth Era Is Here
What Has Changed and What Remains The Same?
May 13, 2020 - Max Osbon ( 6 mins to read)
Investors everywhere today are seeking answers to the same question: In a complex and uncertain world, where can we find reliable investment returns with reasonable protection from risk? With COVID reshuffling the cards, some clear investment patterns are emerging. Prices tell us what we need to know Prices of high quality businesses have increased significantly from the March lows. The best ...
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Risks Are Distributed, Not Eliminated
Stability and Then Instability Via Fed Actions
May 5, 2020 - John Osbon ( 7 mins to read)
The Federal Reserve remains in the spotlight for supporting markets and businesses. The depth and speed of the actions by the Fed have effectively put a floor under stock prices in the United States. The consequences may include deflation or significant inflation, and neither is a good outcome. Warren Buffett did say last Saturday he was worried about ‘extreme consequences’; at the same time he...
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