Correlation & the Efficient Frontier
Today I want to discuss correlation within the context of portfolio construction. If you live in a climate where the weather is...
Charitable Contributions – Taxation
Using charitable contributions is generally only valuable from a taxation standpoint if you itemize deductions on your tax return. If...
Stock Buybacks
What are stock buybacks? A stock buyback or a share repurchase decision occurs when a company buys its own stock from the open market....
When I was a child there was a neighborhood garage sale that would take place every year where I lived. I would sell lemonade, as would many other children. My lemonade was made with real lemons and it was delicious. I would serve it in larger quantities than my competitors and therefore charged more, but […]
Is it true that Frosty the Snowman was as alive he can be? Yes, I can confirm. Frosty was a strange dinner guest because he was always melting. However, he was great company. Though he was slowly defrosting, he still made excellent conversation at the table. He was a good snowman. In retrospect, I should […]
I recently taught a friend to play chess, which is a passion of mine. Within a year, she is defeating me 50% of the time. I could have felt resentment. I did not. I felt proud that I was able to teach someone a fairly complex game and be defeated by my “apprentice”. How Does […]
Trading volume is a metric used in the equity market that identifies the total number of shares in a company which were traded during a defined time period. What Does This Tell You? Institutional Activity Large volume increases or declines may suggest that buying or selling by large institutions is occurring. These will generally be […]
A P/E ratio, or Price to Earnings Ratio, is a simple financial metric used to examine the value of a company. It tells you how much the market is willing to pay for $1 of a company’s earnings. The Math The price of a company’s stock is divided by the earnings per share of that […]
Planning I started my career in the middle of a recession. A friend of mine pointed out to me when we were at a very busy grocery store, that the reason for the chaotic crowd was because it was a Friday and many of the shoppers had just received pay, so could now purchase groceries […]
Required Minimum Distributions are minimum amounts that the government requires most retirement account holders to withdraw annually, starting at a specific age. They apply to tax-deferred retirement accounts and are required to ensure that people eventually pay taxes on money that has been growing with tax deferral. The following types of retirement accounts are subject […]
An oligopoly is an economic structure in which a very small number of firms dominate an industry, such as an internet or power provider. These firms have significant market power. They have complete control over prices and output levels without concern for competition. From a practical standpoint, it makes little sense to run redundant power […]
Dollar Cost Averaging is an investment strategy where you invest a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of the desired asset’s price. The goal is to potentially reduce the impact of volatility on the overall acquisition by spreading out the investments over a period of time. Why Bother Do This? Imagine you wish to invest […]
Doing the work that I do, I have noticed several things about the human condition. Kindness The most significant being kindness, which motivates one much more than assertive or pressuring behavior. Empathy Empathy and understanding for another person’s situation vastly expands the scale of conversation about financial concerns and openness to discuss issues of importance. […]
