As America continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2021, the economy and the equity markets made significant progress. My midyear report to you is, as always, divided into two parts. First is a brief recap of our shared investment philosophy; second is my perspective... read more →
Jul
07
Jan
14
Once in a very great while, there comes a year in the economy and the markets that may serve as a tutorial—in effect, a master class in the principles of successful long-term, goal-focused investing. 2020 was just such a year. On December 31, 2019, the Standard & Poor's 500-Stock index... read more →
May
12
a note from Bob on April 29, 2020 News broke this morning that we were all anticipating - the economy shrank 4.8% in the first quarter. This should be a surprise to absolutely no one. I want to share with you my perspective on this news and what you may... read more →
May
12
a note from Bob on March 31, 2020 Congress and the President have been working overtime passing legislation to fight the effects of the Coronavirus. One recent item (the CARES Act) allows you to completely forgo your Required Minimum Distribution for 2020. This is an RMD holiday and presents some... read more →
May
12
A note from Bob on March 21, 2020 A couple of weeks ago, the S&P 500 entered “bear market territory” by closing down 20% below its previous all-time high. We have been reminded what seems to be hourly of this truth by the financial press. Maybe it’s just me, but... read more →
Apr
26
It’s common practice for the president or CEO of a company to include a letter to shareholders in the annual report. Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO, Warren Buffett, doesn’t buck the trend. His annual letter (https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2018ltr.pdf) captures plenty of attention, and this year was no exception. The focus is on... read more →
Jan
28
PART ONE: GENERAL PRINCIPLES It will be worth restating, even in the context of a letter primarily focused on the year just past, my overall philosophy of investment advice. It is goal-focused and planning-driven, as sharply distinguished from an approach that is market-focused and current-events-driven. Every successful investor I’ve ever... read more →
Jan
06
Short-term market movements are unpredictable. That may sound like a blinding glimpse of the obvious, and likely something you have heard countless times and possibly shared yourself a time or two. Hopefully you agree that short-term market movements are truly unpredictable but understand what it really means – no one... read more →
Dec
07
First of all, let’s get started by briefly describing a yield curve. Please hang with me for a minute; you will like this. Below is a graph of the yield on US Treasury securities. The yield (interest rate) is on the vertical axis and the time period is on the... read more →
Feb
05
Another year is in the record books, and we are fresh into 2018. So before we go too far, let’s take a brief look back over the past couple of years. 2016 started off with what was termed “the worst first six weeks in the equity market’s history.” The S&P... read more →
