Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Regulation is even harder
Jun 11, 2019 - John Osbon ( 6 mins to read)
Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren fired the first shot across the tech bow with a call on March 8th to “break up big tech.” On June 3rd, the government entered the fray, announcing antitrust investigations into Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Microsoft, the biggest tech company by market value, was a conspicuous non-mention. The four stocks had mixed price results from down -9% to up +5% during that period. Microsoft was up +9% over the same span. How will…
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Fear du Jour
Fears turn over like the seasons change
Jun 5, 2019 - John Osbon ( 6 mins to read)
A trade war that continues to expand, with more countries involved and louder saber rattling. An unpredictable president. Uneven corporate earnings. An approaching election with 25 candidates, each with his or her own policies, prejudices and priorities. A stalemate in Washington, leaving important initiatives like infrastructure stranded at the curb. It’s a lot. No wonder so many people are worried, driving the market down six weeks in a row. But does all this fear make sense? What’s it mean for…
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4 Ways To Maintain A Focus On The Long Term
Mar 20, 2019 - John Osbon ( 5 mins to read)
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 ways to maintain a long-term focus following the first quarter’s sharp and unexpected advance. Ignore the “I don’t want to…
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Invest Like A Conservative
Mar 6, 2019 - John Osbon ( 5 mins to read)
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.
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A Late Stage Market Melt-UP
Feb 6, 2019 - John Osbon ( 4 mins to read)
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 strong January’s stock and bond market returns are strong due to fundamentals. Stock valuations are fairly cheap, earnings are increasing…
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Family Offices: A More Personal and Private Approach
Jan 23, 2019 - Max Osbon ( 4 mins to read)
Why are more wealthy families turning to family offices for investment management and wealth planning? At the top of the list are privacy, dedicated expertise and aligned incentives. A recent profile by The Economist on the family office landscape reveals interesting insights about how these offices are run, how they invest and why they appeal to more investors today. Here’s how you can follow along with the best of the industry:
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Information Shutdown
Jan 16, 2019 - John Osbon ( 4 mins to read)
The government shutdown is now entering its fourth week, cutting off a large source of useful information for investors. How are investors supposed to keep track of what is going on financially and economically without government statistics? It’s our job to work around difficult situations. Here is what we, and investors, can count on during an information drought.
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Why Volatility Is Here To Stay
And what you can do about it
Jan 2, 2019 - John Osbon ( 5 mins to read)
Eight hundred point swings in the Dow have been alarmingly regular events in the last month. Swings that large represent a 3% change in the 30 most important stocks in the United States — in one day. And it’s not just the Dow. Similar moves have been hitting the S&P 500 and stock markets outside the US. Even the benchmark 10 year US Treasury bond has been flip flopping with large price changes. Is this the new and harmless normal or…
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