Investor pyschology

Why Do Investors Fear The Insane Clown Posse?

Creepy clown sightings have been reported in at least ten states over the past few weeks.  These social media fed hallucinations are no different than many bizarre unfounded investor fears. My 13-year old twins said they were scared to go play football with their friends because the “clowns might get them.” My not-so-new-age, anti-helicopter parent…

The Curse Of Fragile Perfection

Having a trauma free life can be bad for your health.  Too many people are experts at success, but amateurs at failure. This trait can be deadly for an investor. On any given day, it is no more than a flip-of-a-coin probability that a positive market close will result. Markets tend to fall in one…

Don’t be a Meta-Ignorant, McKnowledged-Based Investor

“If you’re very stupid, how can you possibly realize that you’re very, very stupid? You’d have to be relatively intelligent to realize how stupid you are.”  John Cleese, Actor   Imagine a school where the students, who were on the verge of failing, believed they should be on the honor roll and were infinitely smarter…

Scary vs. Dangerous

Some things might kill you instantly like a dagger through the heart. Others might ravage your body over a prolonged period of time, like a chronic disease. Investing follows these same principles. Unfortunately, a slow or quick death is often the result for many portfolios. There are many immediate portfolio killers but often what investors…

What if your Financial Advisor says President Obama is a Commie?

Mixing politics and investing is a horrible idea. What do you do if the person in charge of your hard- earned money is a rabid partisan? According to The Investment News a financial advisor ran into some regulatory issues. The advisor in question was accused of calling President Obama “evil.” He was also found to…

How Do You Break A Bad Investing Habit?

  Bad habits are very difficult to break. Smoking, overeating, and watching too much Vanderpump Rules are routines we need to rupture. Lord knows I spend way too much time following Jax, Lala, and the rest of the breathtakingly imbecilic, but strangely fascinating, SUR crew. Bad investing habits are the norm, not the exception. They include panicking…

Today is the Most Difficult Day to Invest

While markets tumble and pundits howl with fear, there is a proven solution to this madness. Create a globally-diversified, low-cost portfolio that will benefit from the completely normal temporary stress that markets routinely endure. I find it amazing that people continue to have the same reaction whenever markets go south. The tired photos of traders holding…

Desperately Seeking Powerball

2016 is just a few weeks in and I’m already tapping my toe, and feeling a little anxious. No, it’s not the fact that the stock market is off to a rocky start, or that I didn’t win Powerball (I didn’t play).  It’s the fact that this is all everyone is talking about. Call it…

Only the Paranoid Teachers Survive

Friends do not sell friends overpriced investment products or  expensive insurance that they do not need. Unfortunately, too many teachers equate “nice guys” with being a good financial advisor. Using this as the sole criteria for choosing someone to manage your finances is a recipe for disaster. After reviewing dozens of horrendously expensive, ill-constructed, and…

When Business Dares to Get Personal

It is often said that business and personal matters need to be compartmentalized with a solid barrier between the two. When it comes to meaningful financial planning, nothing could be further from the truth.  I should know, that is how I ended up in this business, when I had little interest about finance at all….