Asset Allocation

An attractive aspect of owning dividend paying stocks, specifically, dividend growth equities, is the fact they tend to hold up better in down market environments. The favorable result from this characteristic is it takes a smaller upside return to make up the losses incurred in a market decline. Here are the details.

Dividends are a key part of most investors’ financial strategy. However, not all dividends are created equal, and chasing yield can often end in tears. To help investors select the best income stocks, Société Générale publishes a monthly income screen, highlighting the best dividend stocks in developed markets based on a number of quality criteria. The bank also publishes a high dividend risk screen, which picks out those companies that are most likely to cut their dividends in the near future. Hopefully, they will help you improve your investing process to some degree.

If there’s been a worse place to be as an investor over the past few years than gold & silver stocks then I haven’t found it. Over the past three years a diversified basket of these metals and mining companies is down over 65%. In that same time the S&P 500 is up nearly 75%, an enormous difference in performance. Here's a look at the historical numbers to get a better sense of how they tend to act.

Warren Buffett likes to counsel individual investors to buy-and-hold (specifically, buy an equity index fund and hold it forever). This is a perfect example of “do as I say, not as I do,” as Buffett has successfully timed the market for decades and, [interestingly,] Buffett is now carrying his largest cash position ever in stark contrast to individual investors who now hold their smallest cash positions since the height of the internet bubble. Clearly, he’s timing once again and I’m sure a few of you are wondering just how he manages to do this so successfully. [Let me explain.]

Most investors don't know anything more about diversification than you "shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket" [but] spending some time trying to understand the ways you might be shooting yourself in the foot could seriously enhance your portfolio returns and stop catastrophic risk. [There are some advantages to diversification if you REALLY know what you are doing but the shortcomings can go a long way towards killing your portfolio returns. In this article we identify what they are and how best to avoid them.] Words: 1055

Those that read this site regularly know my pessimism regarding the future. People frequently ask: “What do I do to protect myself and my family?” or “What should I invest in?” While this discussion will not provide you with specific answers, it should provide a framework that may be useful.

Investing is often described as the process of laying out money now in the expectation of receiving more money in the future. Investment possibilities are both many and varied. There are three major categories 1) currency-based investments, 2) gold bullion and 3) investment in productive assets, and it's important to understand the characteristics of each. [Let me explain the differences and why I choose the latter.] Words: 1780

Warren Buffett is a smart guy and has ascended to near immortal [status] amongst the investment community due to his superior stock picking skills and boundless wealth. [That being said,] listening to his views on portfolio management and diversification could cripple your financial health and may make him one of the most dangerous men in finance. [Let me explain.] Words: 720

Protect your money by steering clear of these 10 major investing mistakes.

Gold stocks have historically ranked among some of the most volatile asset classes - about three times that of gold bullion - but despite this volatility, our research shows that investors can use gold stocks to enhance returns without adding risk to the portfolio. [Let me explain.] Words: 560