SELF- The most important ticker symbol

“The key to financial success isn’t saving, but investing in your own future production.” Cullen Roche This quote from the book Pragmatic Capitalism has enormous ramifications to investors at every stage. What Mr. Roche is trying to say is: Investing in yourself is the wisest choice a person can make and will provide the highest…

School Daze – Three Bad Investing Habits Reinforced by Our Educational System

While most are in agreement that our public school system is in need of massive reform, few areas are in as dire-straights as the subject of financial literacy. Here are some gruesome statistics. Fewer than 50% of public high schools require students to take an economics course. Only 13% require a personal finance class, according…

Grab the phone from that Imbecile! Tales of FX trading

All of the madness this week dealing with Swiss Franc mayhem brought back my memories of the insane world of FX Trading. I chuckle when I hear ads on the radio talking about doing this from home to supplement your income. If the definition of supplement is losing all of your money, these ads are…

Veni, Vidi, Vinci: Investing lessons from Julius Caesar

“I came, I saw, I conquered.” This famous quote is attributed to one of the greatest military minds the world has ever seen: Julius Caesar. While Caesar lived centuries ago, lessons from his conquests can be directly applied to the Game of Thrones-like modern world of investing. Vidi, I came. Julius Caesar conquered lands stretching…

“There are idiots, look around” (Three ways Congress screws with our economy)

This quote attributed to former Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, pertained to those who believe that markets are totally efficient and, therefore, do not need to be regulated. While this was written in an unpublished paper, the quote could be used to very accurately describe the current state of our Congress. Though Mr. Summers contributed to…

Are you a Habanero Investor?

“But the chili sensation isn’t just warm : it hurts. It is a form of pain and irritation. There’s no obvious biological reason why humans should tolerate it, let alone seek it out and enjoy it.” These words, written by John McQuaid, hit home. I love hot food. I put hot pepper on everything. I…

Buggin out in 2014

Barry Ritholtz said something that really hit home. He eloquently stated, “In a diversified portfolio some asset classes will be lagging, and some leading; this is a feature not a bug.” With dividends reinvested and no fees, the S&P 500 returned over 13% in 2014. The portfolios I manage garnered less than half of that….