Asset Allocation

Larger allocations to gold are merited, then silver and investors should consider very small allocations to platinum and palladium.

Today’s infographic comes to us from Evolve ETFs, and it shows what investors should know as the legal cannabis sector comes out of the dark.

If you are saving money for a down payment on a house or a car you plan on buying next year and you do not want to risk your money in the stock market looking for somewhere to invest for the short term is the way to go and there are some really good options out there for you. Below is a list of 6 solid short term investment options for you to consider.

Companies which spent years developing their brands can see their business disappear almost overnight. It’s like a black swan event except with industries not the economy. If you’re an investor, it might not be enough to just look at the competition. You need to look at how technology can destroy a business.

A prudent investor is able to spot when an asset becomes a high risk and then has the sense to move his or her funds into one that is a lower risk but, unfortunately, complacency has turned investors brains into mush. Real estate & stock asset values are near their top while the silver price is closer to its bottom. Thus, assets that are near a top are HIGH RISK, and those near a bottom are LOW RISK. It’s really that simple.

We want to invest in the most profitable companies in the market, and also want to consider companies with superior profitability in comparison with the industry average and the following quantitative ranking system does just that picking the 50 companies with highest quality ranking in the S&P 500 index.

An investor friend of mine, Howard Lindzon, keeps a list of...14 stocks which he has identified as having strong staying power over the next couple decades, based on the fact that nearly everyone ages 8 to 80 has heard of and/or uses these products consistently. He calls it the "8 to 80 Watch List".

Do you really need portfolio diversification?...Everyone assumes that broad asset class portfolio diversification is advantageous...[as it] reduces the risk associated with events that can trigger a decline in any one asset class...[and makes] financial planning more reliable and predictable by reducing the variations in portfolio performance from year to year. Simply put, portfolio diversification is a sound investment practice but, [that said,] exactly how much risk reduction, in actual numbers, is obtained through application of this philosophy? [Bottom line, is] asset class diversification all that it’s cracked up to be? This article...addresses...the benefits of diversification among various classes.

Gold mining stocks are hanging by a thread and stochastics indicate further to go to the downside before they turn around, but I think they are buyable here.

Overall, the market was due for a pullback. It seemed like every trading day in January, the market was only rising so it is only natural that, eventually, the market was going to fall but it’s just that many didn’t think this type of volatility was going to happen so soon. Here are some things to keep in mind.