iShares chief investment strategist Russ Koesterich has written an engaging, insightful book explaining the magnitude of the problem that the United States national debt presents for investors. The full title of the book is The $10 Trillion Gamble: The Coming Deficit Debacle and How To Invest Now. Read the full article

Having recently finished Vitaliy Katsenelson's book, I was planning to review it, but I see that my friend David Merkel over at the Aleph Blog wrote an excellent review of "The Little Book of Sideways Markets" yesterday. Rather than rehash what he's already done, I'll just recommend his review. I'll only add that the book will appeal not only to readers who know something about stocks and want to learn more, but also to those looking for a well-written introduction to the stock market. Read the full article

About 50 million people own 401(k)-type retirement plans, and the percentage of workers with defined-benefit (pension) plans has been dwindling for years. One problem with 401(k) plans is that many plans don’t disclose their fees openly. That would change if Congress moves forward with a bill currently awaiting action in the House of Representatives. Read the full article

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), of which I’m a member, is launching a free consumer education webinar series this week. Read the full article

Several weeks ago I found time to read Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Fooled By Randomness. This book, entertaining and eminently readable, is something between a memoir and a treatise on the pervasive human tendency to discern patterns in places where they don't actually exist. Among many examples, he shows how easy it is to mistake a lucky idiot for a skilled investment manager. Read the full article

I noted last week that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has warned brokers that inverse and leveraged ETFs are inappropriate for many retail investors. Having discussed the workings and problems of inverse ETFs, I’d like to continue by taking a look at leveraged exchange-traded funds. Read the full article

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently notified brokers who sell complex Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that “inverse and leveraged ETFs typically are not suitable for retail investors who plan to hold them for more than one trading session.” The warning is long overdue, as leveraged ETFs were first introduced in 2006 after three years of SEC review. Read the full article

At last I’ve gotten to the question I promised to address last month: how do different kinds of investments perform in inflationary environments versus deflationary ones, and is there any way to protect yourself against both risks? Read the full article

I gave a short discussion of quantitative easing in the second post of my Inflation/Deflation series. I learned recently that the Financial Times web site has a nice explanation of how quantitative easing works to check deflation; if you're a visual learner, you might find it helpful. You may have to register at the FT site to view it, but registration is free.

The piece explains the risks of quantitative easing and makes an important point: although many economists believe that too much quantitative easing could be very bad and that too little easing won't check deflation, no one knows for certain a priori how much quantitative easing is too much (or not enough). Read the full article

Previously I discussed some of the differences between inflationary and deflationary economic environments. I’d like to pick up where I left off, mention one challenging aspect of deflation, and talk a bit about which environment we’re experiencing. Read the full article

Increasingly in the media, there are discussions relating to deflation: are we experiencing deflation, and is deflation worse than inflation? Occasionally, discussions of the economy refer to disinflation. This will be the first in a series of posts exploring price changes and their implications for investing. Read the full article

There are a number of differences between stocks and bonds. In addition to those I discussed earlier, the two also differ in terms of the unpleasant things that can go wrong with them. The deal struck between Citigroup and the Treasury recently provides an opportunity to illustrate a few more differences. Read the full article

Last year, one of my clients asked me this question. He was well-educated, but had simply never had an occasion to learn how investments work. It struck me at that moment that if he didn't know, then plenty of other people probably don't, so I decided to prepare a short introduction to the topic. Read the full article

2008 has been firmly established as an annus horribilis for the financial world. Yesterday, Wall Street got another big dose of bad news as a well-known stockbroker and former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange was arrested yesterday for swindling investors out of tens of billions of dollars. Read the full article

Until now, it hasn’t been entirely clear how much damage will result from the Lehman bankruptcy. An auction taking place today will be an important step in assessing which financial institutions stand to take a hit.

Today’s auction involves a type of security that many people know little about or have only heard of recently: credit default swaps. Read the full article

Today’s post continuues Part 1 with a further explanation of this rapidly-growing alternative to the mutual fund. In my initial post I explained that ETFs

• are created by financial institutions in large blocks that can be freely converted into underlying securities
• are transparent, meaning that the underlying securities are publicly disclosed on a continuous basis
• trade continuously on financial exchanges at prices that generally move closely with the underlying securities
• are generally liquid, reflecting the liquidity of the underlying securities
• are usually (but not necessarily) linked to a securities index
• tend to have low management costs

Read the full article

In the last four years or so, there has been explosion of newly created exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the financial marketplace. What are these investment products, and how are they different from the more familiar mutual funds? Read the full article

Wall Street is licking its wounds this weekend, no doubt, after being pretty badly clawed by what is almost certainly a bear market. In the coming days you’ll see all sorts of articles offering you free advice, e.g. identifying “Bear Market Stocks You Should Buy Now,” providing lists of the mutual funds into which you should put all your money, and so forth. What should you do? Read the full article

How much do you pay each year in mutual fund fees? Investors who ignore this question stand to lose a considerable percentage of their investment returns over the long-term. Read the full article

Although hedge funds have been in the news a lot lately, the average person probably has only a vague idea what they are. A few years ago my wife asked me what a hedge fund was, and I realized that I couldn't give her a simple answer. Partly this was because there is no single answer, and partly it was because I couldn't think of a way to do it without lapsing into financial buzzwords. So this post is in honor of my wife, who gave me the idea for it. Read the full article

When I meet with a prospective client for the first time, I try to explain a little about my approach to investments. On a couple of occasions when I’ve mentioned “index mutual funds,” someone has asked me, “what’s an index?” I’m always happy to get this kind of question; such questions help me remember that not everyone on the planet is a personal finance geek (and that’s a good thing). Read the full article

Return to The FFS Blog Home Page

And now, to keep my lawyers happy: This site is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing contained here should be construed by anyone as an invitation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. This site does not contain personalized legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Users of this site should consult with a qualified adviser to obtain advice suited to their personal circumstances. Any links provided here to other web sites are for informational purposes only. We take no responsibility for the accuracy or content of linked sites.

COPYRIGHT THOMAS A. FISHER © 2008 - 2015