What’s The Best Investing Advice Parents Can Give Teenagers?

Come for the education, stay for the compounding. What’s the best financial advice you can give to your teenagers? Explain the concept of compound interest and help them open up a Roth IRA. It’s that simple. According to William Poundstone, proficiency in understanding how compound interest works is a notable predictor of income, wealth, and…

Shut Up And Wait

Compounding is rocket fuel for gardeners and investors. Growing plants or money takes time; lots of it. Unfortunately, get rich quick syndrome is a popular addiction. Mother Nature (and your portfolio) could care less about you being a cool kid. We moved into our home 17 years ago. Things were pretty barren. Compounding changed things. Investing…

There Has Never Been a Better Time to Be a Young Investor

This past week I had the privilege of setting up a Roth IRA for the daughter of a client. She is 19 and has her whole life ahead of her. What a great time to explain the basic principles of investing. The trick was how to do it. Concepts such as retirement couldn’t be more…

You Should Ignore Investment Advice From These 6 People

Not acting like an idiot is a huge component for successful investing. Trying to create the perfect investment strategy or being blessed with an off-the-charts I.Q. are often liabilities for the individual investor. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s chief lieutenant sums this up perfectly: “It’s not brilliance, it’s just avoiding stupidity.” Regarding stupid behavior he remarked,…

Three Investment Lessons from Coolio

“They say I gotta learn, but nobody’s here to teach me. If they can’t understand it, how can they reach me?” These words, written by the rapper Coolio, are from the title song of the 1995 film “Dangerous Minds” starring Michele Pfeiffer. The story of the idealistic teacher saving the souls of impoverished and neglected…