ETFGI, an independent research firm focused on the global Exchange Traded Product (ETP) industry, reported that as of the end of Q1 2017 global ETP assets (which include ETFs) exceeded global hedge fund assets by over $800 billion. This is a good thing. Mostly because it means hedge fund participation over the last two years…
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Here’s a simple question: which asset class has better historical returns, stocks or one-month U.S. treasury bills? That’s pretty much a no-brainer. Most anyone would tell you the answer is stocks. And they’d be right. Since 1926 treasury bills have returned a paltry 3.5% annually on average, vs. over 10% for the S&P 500. That’s…
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Most people I speak to are aware of the 10% penalty for withdrawing from an IRA prior to age 59½. And as with most government rules there are always exceptions that have been added on afterwards to support specific situations not considered when the original legislation was promoted. But there are also penalties for contributing…
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The concept of knowledge has recently undergone a radical change, with no less a personage than our new president and his cohorts attempting to legitimize what one of them has referred to as “alternative facts.” Notwithstanding the societal consequences of government leaders making decisions based on false information, fake news can be especially problematic when making…
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In Part 1 of this posting, I talked about how the government’s monetary policy is executed through the Fed to modify interest rates. To recap: the Fed cannot control interest rates; it can only influence them, and realistically speaking only short-term rates at that. In order to keep long-term rates low to stimulate the economy…
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As you may have read in the media, the Federal Reserve (Fed) raised its benchmark interest rate to 1.00% in March. This was the second increase in just three months and the most the Fed has raised the rate in over eight years. What’s the significance of such rate hikes, particularly to investors? Let’s start…
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