Think of stock analysis like a trial… Mr. Market is on one side. He argues for following trends reflected in stock charts. He also supports working with technical-analysis indicators and sentiment-related data. Mr. Contrarian opposes Mr. Market. “Be smarter,” he says. “Buy when others are fearful. Sell when they’re greedy.” But as I explained yesterday, …
As the judge in the Court of Investor Opinion, you don’t have a gavel or a sheriff… But you do have a computer mouse. And that’s all you need to hear this case… You’ll be evaluating evidence presented by Mr. Market and his adversary, Mr. Contrarian. You need to make a ruling. And then, you …
The Reason Why Mr. Market Often Tops Mr. Contrarian Read More »
Most folks don’t understand how the Volatility Index (“VIX”) really works… Like many financial tools, it’s somewhat convoluted. Most people think the VIX measures the current volatility of the market. But in reality, the VIX actually measures how much volatility investors expect over the next month. Essentially, the Chicago Board Options Exchange designed a formula …
Index investors suffer from what I call “Harrison Bergeron syndrome”… Harrison Bergeron is the title character in a short story from American writer Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House collection. It was first published in 1961. The short story is set in 2081. In this dystopian future, the government forces smarter, more attractive, and …
Don’t Let Wall Street Make You Into Harrison Bergeron Read More »
Have you ever wanted to do the right thing… but couldn’t? Maybe you spotted an inefficiency at your job… You had an idea to make things better. But your boss wouldn’t let you make the needed change. Or perhaps your boss wouldn’t even listen to you in the first place. We’ve all likely experienced this …
One key question helps investors determine risk tolerance. And folks, it’s a tough one… How willing are you to sacrifice potential rewards to reduce potential losses? These days, investment firms assume they can marshal their extensive brainpower and financial muscle to automate the process for answering this question. They want you to trust their computers, …
Our first big battle with “stagflation” happened more than 50 years ago… And now, we’re preparing to fight another one. If you’re not familiar, stagflation has two core parts. The first part is slowing economic growth. And the second is high inflation. For generations, economists didn’t think this combination could happen… You see, inflation normally …
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never lost a moment of sleep worrying about rising rates… And that’s despite having a significant part of my overall portfolio dedicated to fixed income. After all, I’m hoping to have a steady stream of income in retirement. The Federal Reserve’s shenanigans don’t matter to me. It’s OK …
You might’ve forgotten doing this… But I can almost guarantee you did. At some point, you filled out a “risk tolerance” questionnaire for your broker… These days, every broker has one of these questionnaires. They ask questions like, “Do you plan to keep pace with the stock market or would you like your assets to …
Editor’s note: As we told you a few weeks ago, Chaikin Analytics founder Marc Chaikin recently joined quantitative fund manager Meb Faber on his podcast, The Meb Faber Show. Marc and Meb talked for roughly 35 minutes during the interview. They covered everything from Marc’s early career to what he’s “bullish” on today – and …
