Bring Back The Tontine for Retirees?

Bring Back The Tontine for Retirees?

In today’s world, newly-minted retirees are being forced to take on risks that their predecessors did not have to deal with. Prior to the 1990s, a retiree could typically count on a guaranteed amount of income from social security and from company pensions lasting until he or she passed away.   In effect, the federal government…
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Why Are Investors Still Worried About GDP?

In a recent 2016 investment outlook paper, Joseph Davis, Vanguard’s chief economist, estimated annual global equity growth over the next five to ten years to be in the 5%-8% range, significantly below the 10% average from 1926-2014. He based this expectation to a large extent on lower U.S. and international GDP real growth rates.  While…
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Thanksgiving Is The Time For Deal Making!

This Thanksgiving (which is tomorrow as of this writing), when you find yourself leaning back from the table after having consumed a bountiful turkey repast, it’s only natural for your thoughts to turn to a historical event that kicked off one of the greatest real estate booms in American history. I’m referring of course to…
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Better To Be A Good Than A Great Investor

Cliff Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management, recently stated on Bloomberg TV, “I used to think being great at investing long-term was about genius. Genius is still good, but more and more I think it’s about doing something reasonable, that makes sense, and then sticking to it with incredible fortitude through the tough times.”  In…
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So You Think You Can Pick Stocks?

The year 2015 may or may not be remembered as the year that ended one of the longest U.S. stock bull markets in history, but for those of you holding individual stocks in your portfolio, it will probably bring to mind the thrashing that their prices have undergone. Volatility, of course, should be nothing new…
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Economists Engaging in Guessing Games Again

For those of you who have not been following recent news about the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed), Janet Yellin, Chair of the Board of Governors, announced some time ago that the Fed is likely to raise interest rates at its upcoming September 16th meeting. Historically the Fed has always been vague about discussing the…
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