Mullooly Asset Management

Fiduciary Fee-Only Financial Planner | Investment Advisor in Wall, NJ

Get Investment Advice from Mullooly Asset Management

Here we cover working with an investment advisor, how to find an investment adviser, what kind of questions to ask an investment adviser or financial advisor. We also cover topics like knowing the differences between stockbrokers (also known as financial consultants, financial advisers) and investment advisers -- differences most individual investors may not know.

Investment Advisor

We also cover areas like fee-only advisors versus fee-based advisors, and fee-only advisors versus advisers working on commission. We don't trash any business model as wrong, but it's important you know how your adviser gets paid.

If you do not see a topic you would like discussed, feel free to get in touch with Thomas Mullooly and his team at 732-223-9000 or here.

Here are some of our most recent articles:

The ETF Disease

by

In his excellent book, Factfulness, Hans Rosling shares a story that highlights a valuable lesson:

Before modern medicine, one of the worst imaginable skin diseases was syphilis. The microbe that caused this disgusting sight and unbearable pain had different names in different places. In Russia it was called the Polish disease. In Poland it was the German disease; in Germany, the French disease; and in France, the Italian disease. The Italians blamed back, calling it the French disease.

This brief anecdote speaks to a more pervasive truth about human nature: we love finding scapegoats.

Assigning blame allows us to oversimplify complex issues. Assigning blame lets us find a villain that confirms our priors. Assigning blame is therapeutic. Once we identify the villain, we get to stop thinking. We reach a tidy conclusion that fits our worldview, and the case is closed.

Except it doesn’t really make anything better. As Rosling puts it in his book, “This instinct to find a guilty party derails our ability to develop a true, fact-based understanding of the world”.

A particular financial scapegoat that I’ve grown especially tired of hearing about is ETFs.

The growing trend of investors using low-cost vehicles like ETFs and index funds has attracted many critics. There’s no shortage of scathing narratives: ETFs are a bubble! Indexing is worse than Marxism! Passive investors are parasites! We’re headed for a passive index meltdown! 

While it’s true that flows into ETFs and index funds have accelerated greatly in the last decade…

ETF and Mutual Fund Flows 2009-2017
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/whitepaper/viewpoint-index-investing-supports-vibrant-capital-markets-oct-2017.pdf

…the percentage of global stocks owned by ETFs and index funds is still relatively small.

Global Stock Ownership
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/whitepaper/viewpoint-index-investing-supports-vibrant-capital-markets-oct-2017.pdf

To say that we are approaching a point in time when ETFs and index funds overtake active stock selection seems a bit premature.

One concern expressed by many critics of ETFs and index funds is that these investment vehicles are distorting prices by piling investors into all of the same stocks.

It’s true that index funds and ETFs often own stocks in proportion to their market capitalization. However, many comparable active mutual funds own similar, if not larger, positions in the very same names. For that matter, there are still plenty of investors who own these stocks directly, without going through an ETF or mutual fund. Owning large and popular stocks is not mutually exclusive to ETFs or index funds.

To take it a step further, another criticism of ETF and index fund investors is that they buy irrespective of fundamentals.

I agree with the notion that ETF and index fund investors are largely price takers who opt-out of the “price discovery” process that active investors provide via trading. However, there are still plenty of active managers participating in “price discovery” every day.

For example, BlackRock estimates that active stock selection accounts for roughly $10 trillion in trading annually. The majority of global stocks (roughly 82% per the figure above) are still owned by active stock selectors, and they are sufficiently active. The same BlackRock piece estimates that for every $1 traded by index funds and ETFs, active stock selectors trade $22. Price discovery is alive and well.

Also, is it such a terrible thing that a portion of the investing public has admitted they do not have the skill, time, or inclination to participate in “price discovery”? I agree that there theoretically has to be a limit to how many people can decide to just index. I do not believe we are close to that threshold. In fact, I’m not sure we will ever get there because potential outperformance is too tempting.

A final criticism of ETFs and index funds is that their holders are not truly passive investors.

I agree with this assertion. Not all ETF or index fund owners are of the buy and hold variety. When people want to sell, they are going to sell whether they claim to be active, passive, or (most likely) something in between.

I’m not sure this is a knock on ETFs or index funds as much as it is a knock on human nature. People have been panic selling their investments since the beginning of time. This behavior will continue indefinitely, regardless of the wrapper assets are owned in. If ETFs did not exist, investors would just sell their active mutual funds or individual stocks during the next downturn. This behavior is not unique to ETF and index fund investors.

As much as I disagree with it, there will undoubtedly be those who blame ETFs and index funds for a future market downturn. Our love of finding scapegoats all but guarantees this. Whether they want to call it the “ETF disease”, the “index fund disease”, or the “passive investing disease”, assigning blame for a complex situation is an oversimplified, useless exercise. ETF scapegoating tells you far more about those assigning blame than anything of actual value.

While ETFs and index funds are generally a great tool for investors, they are not panacea. Investors still need to behave well or they risk forfeiting the cost and tax advantages these funds tend to offer. Additionally, there are still operational needs and important roles for active management to play for investors.

Let’s resist the urge to find a scapegoat and accept that ETFs, index funds, and active management can and should co-exist in our investment world.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average

by

While much of 2018 has been slow and steady, let’s remember: the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid over ten percent in two weeks, between January 26th and February 8th.  Yes, the drops can happen quickly. The old cliche still works: markets usually climb up the staircase, but take the elevator down.

It does not change our overall outlook.  Five percent drops can happen at any point in time, even without news.

Another point of note: the Dow Jones began the year at 24,922 on January 3rd. It quickly ran up in January to 26,616 and then it dropped 10%. At the moment, it stands at 26,453 – about where it was in January.

Brendan likes to use the term “lumpy” when it comes to market returns, and he’s right.  Most investors want to see their accounts move up in straight, simple lines.  But it does not work that way. In fact, it never works that way.  I’ve seen years where we make all our gains in the last two weeks of the year, I’ve seen years where we make all the gains in January and tread water the rest of the way. And I’ve seen everything in between. You just don’t know.

But what we DO know if you won’t make anything if you decide to move to the sidelines, or don’t want to participate. Because when you are investing in the market, you are (for the most part) betting on America – and betting the future of business in general.

Below is a chart of the members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average around the time I got started as a broker. Take a look at it (as our friend Josh Brown often writes “click to embiggen”).

Dow Jones Members 1985

Although we’re “betting on America” realize that many (21 of 30) companies that made up the Dow Jones in 1985 are no longer on the list.  Or (for that matter) some are no longer even around. Apple was publicly traded back then, but not a member of the Dow Jones like it is today.  Microsoft was not publicly traded until a few months later, in March 1986. There was no Amazon. No Facebook.  Other than IBM, there was not another technology company in the index.

Haha, there wasn’t even a “Verizon” back then, for that matter (it was still called Bell Atlantic and had just been carved out of AT&T the year before)!

Of equal importance, while we’re “betting on America” and betting on the future of business, look at the companies no longer in the Dow Jones.  What kind of commentary does it say about the progress we’ve made – in just thirty-three years?  We’re actually investing in the progress of commerce. 

For example:
Allied-Signal started when five chemical companies merged to form Allied in 1920.  Allied bought Bendix in the eighties, pushing them into aerospace.  Signal was actually an oil and gas company, and even owned Flying Tiger at one point.  Allied and Signal merged in 1985.  They eventually bought Honeywell and changed their name (and stock symbol) to Honeywell (HON).

American Can was one of the largest manufacturers of tin cans.  Yes, tin cans in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  The company later changed their name to Primerica and were ultimately merged into something today we call Citicorp.   A pretty interesting trip for a tin-can company!

Still a DJIA member, 33 years later:
American Express
Chevron (also acquired Texaco)
DuPont is now DWDP
Exxon
IBM
McDonald’s
Merck
3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing)
United Technologies

Investing in the market is betting on the future, betting on progress. Period.
And that comes with all the bumps and bruises, all the good days and not-so-good days, and all the draw-downs that come with investing.

 

Politicians and Your Money

by

People will nod their head in agreement when advisors say things like “Politicians do not control the markets.”

But people still believe it!  So I’m going to tap lightly on a “third rail” of topics we should probably steer clear from – politics!

Over my career, different clients have told me to my face, the following statements:
“Jimmy Carter was the worst President – ever!”
“Ronald Reagan was the worst President – ever!”
“George Bush was the worst President – ever!”
“Bill Clinton was the worst President – ever!”
“George Bush was the worst President – ever!”
“Barack Obama was the worst President – ever!”
“Donald Trump was the worst President – ever!”

Presidents and Stock MarketsIt’s pretty humorous to see the current occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue boasting about stock market gains.  Somehow I do not think those tweets will age very well.  But that’s not what this post is about at all.

As we prepare for the future, all we have to go on is what has happened in the past.  So, let’s take a look.

There are PLENTY of things that went wrong during each — in fact, ALL of these administrations.  We have learned that no one is immune, no one is perfect.  We can have good times with lousy leaders and we can have lousy times with good leaders too.

Meanwhile, throughout all the turbulent periods of time, the stock market continued to go up – in fact, go up considerably.  As we look back, we see there were some terrible periods of time for investors and markets, throughout this near forty-year window in time.  But they were periods of time, and none too long.

For example:

  1. The late 1970’s into 1982
  2. Fall 1987
  3. Summer 1990
  4. 1994
  5. Summer 1998
  6. Spring-Summer 2000
  7. September 11th
  8. 2002 through mid-2003
  9. 2008 into early 2009
  10. Summer 2011
  11. Fall 2014
  12. mid 2015-mid 2016
  13. February 2018

But in perspective, many of these “events” were relatively short periods of time.  But calling these events “short periods of time” is not fair to those with money at risk.  Merely waving these periods off as non-events tends to minimize, or trivialize what investors (and advisors!) had to deal with, while going through them.  It doesn’t address the “psychological” or “mental” side of investing.  Not many folks were ready to dive back into stocks in late 1987 (or, for that matter, throughout ALL of 1988).  You could say the same for 2009 (and for a few years afterwards).

Advisors “earn” more of their fees when markets are rocky and investors want to jump off the bridge.  Keeping them from going off the bridge and focused (instead) on the long run is where advisors earn their stripes.  Taking the easy trade and allowing people to change their game plan because they are frightened of news headlines is weak.   

Now let’s run through that list again and see (some of) the reasons why the markets fell in those pockets of time:

  1. The late 1970’s into 1982: two recessions nearly back-to-back
  2. Fall 1987: stock market/dollar currency issues
  3. Summer 1990: Invasion of Kuwait & recession
  4. 1994: Fed raises interest rates throughout the year, starting February 4, 1994
  5. Summer 1998: Russia devalues ruble, Emerging Markets turmoil
  6. Spring-Summer 2000: After a tremendous surge, dot-com stocks implode, mild recession Mar-Nov 2000
  7. September 11th: Terrorist attack
  8. 2002 through mid-2003: Recession
  9. 2008 into early 2009: Recession (began in Q4 2007, ran through Q2 2009)
  10. Summer 2011: fear of recession/US debt downgrade
  11. Fall 2014: Ebola virus scare/Federal Reserve ends Quantitative Easing
  12. mid 2015-mid 2016: Oil price crashes, China devalues
  13. February 2018: markets drop 12% in two weeks on rate hikes/inflation fears

Having lived through many of these events with clients (and their investments), it can be a tense, nerve-wracking test of your intestinal fortitude.  And you honestly believe the bad days may never end.

But the bad days do end.  And we come out alive.  A little bruised, a bit battered and scraped, but we’re alive.  And better for the experience, too.

All those folks who thought the world was ending in the late 1970’s, missed out on a lot.  Those folks who cashed in after 1987 – same thing.  Again after 2008.  And each time thereafter.  But it’s not the President who causes markets to move long term.  We chuckle whenever we read these articles telling us “markets tend to do better with a Republican Democrat in office.”  Historically, the difference is roughly three percent, which you can see here.

But how many of these lousy markets were due to the person we elected President?  Over long stretches of time, it does not matter whether the “Donkey” party or the “Elephant” party is in the White House (or controls Congress).  What controls the market (in short periods) is not even the economy, as stocks tend to begin sliding on recession fears (not on the actual event).  And stocks (historically) begin to climb before a recession has ended.   Stock markets get swung around due to all kinds of daily news.

In the day-to-day, the markets get swung around by news headlines.  The headlines are often noise in a day-to-day stream of events.  And much of those news headlines are driven by folks in the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court and who’s yakking about interest rates over at the Federal Reserve.   But those folks should not have a long-term impact on our investment plans.

The White House and folks in Washington usually provides good material for discussions around the water-cooler, not for making serious investment decisions.

 

Smile On

by

It’s been about a month since I wrote my first post about living with CML, “You’ll Be Alright”. It’s hard for me to write consistently due to a phenomenon known as “chemo brain”.  In this last month a lot has changed and at the same time a lot hasn’t changed. Something that hasn’t changed is how good writing and sharing my story makes me feel, so here we go.

Some of the most memorable days of your life can happen without you even realizing it. Life can and will change without your permission. That’s just how it goes.

On February 14th of this year I went to my normal weekly hot yoga class. Towards the end of the flow I tried a move I’d never done before, double pigeon pose. I felt a pop in my knee and a jolt down my right leg. It stiffened up over night and I couldn’t put much pressure on it. I knew I had to get it checked out. I was bummed out to the max because I was supposed to go snowboarding up in Vermont the next week with my best friends. I was devastated and became angry for several days. “I shouldn’t have tried that pose, what was I thinking?!”. I got my knee checked out by an orthopedic who told me that snowboarding was definitely out. He sent me for an MRI around February 20th, I would get the results in about two weeks. I ignored the doctor’s advice and the pain in my knee and went boarding in Vermont. I just had to. I had been looking forward to that trip for so long, if I didn’t go out boarding with the guys, my life would suck. So I thought.

The next week on March 6th I went to get my MRI results. When I got the results my heart leapt because the doctor told me there was no structural damage, just a strained MCL. He continued on, telling me that the bone marrow in my knee looked abnormal. He wanted me to go see another specialist. I didn’t really think much of it until I got out into my car and googled the doctors he was referring me to. He wanted me to see an oncologist. “What’s that?” I thought. So I googled again. Cancer, he wanted me to see a cancer doctor. “Wait….. what? I don’t have cancer, I feel fine”. I called my mom immediately and told her what was going on. That was the first of many tearful conversations we would have over the next few days. From there I went to my primary doctor who sent me for blood work.

On March 7th I got the blood work done. That was one of the strangest days of my life. I went to work and did my normal thing but I kind of felt like I was watching myself go through the motions that day. My mind was not in my body, as one of the scariest words, cancer, was in my every thought. I honestly thought there was no chance I had cancer. “I think I would be able to tell if I had cancer” was one of my recurring thoughts that day.

So the next day, March 8th, I went into work, trying to keep things as normal as possible. I got a call from my primary doctor at about 10:15 am. The blood work revealed that my white blood cell count was 240,000, the normal range is 3,000-10,000, just a bit high. The next thing I knew I was being admitted to the hospital. I was told to “bring my slippers”, meaning I’d be there a while.  A CT scan revealed my spleen was about the size of a football, normally about the size of a fist. I took my first round of chemo pills that night around 8 pm. The next morning brought the bone marrow biopsy. For those that don’t know, a bone marrow biopsy is when a huge needle is injected into your pelvic bone. A needle, into your bone. I was given heavy pain killers but I’m not sure I needed them, I was already numb. The biopsy confirmed that CML was the diagnosis.

Oh how quickly things change. In a three week span I went from thinking my life sucked because my knee hurt to thanking God that I hurt my knee. If I didn’t try double pigeon pose who knows how long my leukemia would have remained undetected. Time can change your perspective on just about anything. I would also like to add that I ripped powder in Vermont with a strained MCL and cancer, pretty bad-ass in my opinion.

Before I was diagnosed with leukemia it was pedal to the medal all the time. I worked 40 hours a week, studied CFP material 10 hours a week, worked out like a beast everyday and went out with friends multiple nights a week. I wanted to do it all. I really tried to get as much as I could out of each day. It felt good to be able to do all that. It was extremely satisfying, even though I didn’t realize it at the time.

Looking back on it I had been feeling bouts of extreme fatigue dating back to around July 2017 (diagnosed March 2018).  I was getting more than enough sleep (6-10 hours a night) but no matter what I was just so incredibly tired all the time. I attributed it to my body getting used to waking up at 6 a.m to study CFP material before work. I rationalized away what my body was signaling to me. I thought “I can’t be tired, I got 8 hours of sleep last night, I just need to push through it” so that’s what I did for 9 months. And it would have been longer if I didn’t hurt my knee. I waited until after I was diagnosed with cancer to finally admit that I was fatigued all the time (forehead slap). I literally said to my doctor “now that you mention it, I have been really tired lately” while sitting in my hospital bed that first night. Yeah, ya think?!  I think it’s mostly because I didn’t want to seem weak. I told myself that I was fine because I thought I had to be. I thought “You’re not tired. Just push past this. Be strong”.

We wear our tiredness as a badge in our society. If you’re not tired, then you must not be working hard enough. Sleep when you’re dead. The grind never stops. We’re all told to power through, regardless of how we feel. After all, our ego’s are at stake, as well as our sense of pride. It’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking we’re well rested. We’d rather drown ourselves in caffeine than admit that we’re tired. I did it for almost a year and maybe longer. This is the downside of mental toughness. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t all work as hard as we can and that if you’re tired all the time you have a malignant disease. No, I realize that my situation is more of the exception to the rule. But, it’s so easy to get caught up in this “grind” mentality. Where we’re in this constant state of “doing” and where “doing nothing” is unacceptable.  Again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to do as much as possible. But, please make sure you’re getting rest. It’s perfectly normal and healthy to rest and do nothing once in a while. And to take personal days to recuperate. I mean, we literally have to do nothing for about a quarter of each day, it’s called sleep. Doing nothing can also be a form of improvement.  I didn’t want to listen to my body because I was scared of what it was saying. I know now that when your body speaks to you, LISTEN. If you feel “off” or not right for extended periods of time, don’t wait to check it out or tell someone. You’re not being weak, you’re doing the right thing.

I’ve realized that time management is actually energy management in disguise. We usually just align our energy levels with times during the day (sleep at night, be full of energy in the morning). One way we measure our energy is in time. Time is constant, you have 24 hours each day. Energy levels are variable. Time management requires a watch. Energy management requires the mental ability to accurately assess your energy level and then deploy what energy you have efficiently.

How do you make sure you’ll have enough energy for tomorrow? You get a good night’s sleep. Not so easy for us with cancer. The thing about cancer related fatigue is, a good night’s sleep doesn’t necessarily equal more energy in the morning.  So I’ve had to adjust from time management to energy management.

We all wake up with a plan of how our days going to go. We subconsciously act under the assumption that we’ll have the physical capability to do what we plan. Well, cancer doesn’t care about your plans. Each morning, usually while fighting back the nausea from taking my pill, I assess how much energy I have for the day. That’s one thing I definitely took for granted. Not having to think “do I have enough energy to do this?” simply just, waking up and doing. Some days I can hit all the areas in my plan and some days I forfeit all together. I have to do what’s best for me, which means being able to determine what that actually means. Not as simple as it sounds. That’s just how it is. It’s little nuanced things like this that don’t get much attention but make the battle against cancer that much harder. Much of it happens under the surface, hidden in plain view.

There’s a preciseness to living with CML that is irritating at times. I have to take my pill at the exact same time every day. You get to choose initially what time you take it, but for the best outcome you have to take it at the exact same time each day. No wiggle room. My pill messes with my stomach most days, especially when I don’t eat before taking it. So each morning I have to wake up, eat and take my pill. It doesn’t seem like a big deal but there’s a good chance that I’ll be doing this routine for the rest of my days. The monotony is necessary and a small price to pay but it just irks me sometimes.

Picture bowling except the lane is only an inch bigger than the ball. That’s what living with CML feels like. There is very little room for error. And if an error does occur it could be the big one. So I’ve had to develop my own system of bumpers so to speak. On one side is resilience and on the other side is restraint. When the ball seems like it’s going into the gutter on the left (bad days) I need resilience to bump me back on track. And when the ball is swinging back to the right (good days) I need to practice restraint so I don’t over indulge. This is true for everyone, but is magnified in those that live with cancer. When your system is as fragile as mine one tiny mistake in either direction will cost you. So now before committing to do things I really have to ask “is this worth it?” or “what are the consequences” or “how will this most likely make me feel afterward?”

Every decision has consequences. Every decision needs to be made with my best interest in mind. Which is actually a lot harder than it seems. One of the harder parts of living with CML is restraining myself when I feel good. When I feel good I want to do it all. I want to workout, play 18 holes then go out and have a couple drinks with the guys at night. Or I want the satisfaction of working a full day at the office. I’ve gone all out before and paid the consequences. About a month ago my friends from college got married. Most of my best friends from college were there, what an awesome day it was. I let loose and had a few drinks and stayed up until the early morning. Man, it felt good to let loose and not care about the consequences. But I paid for it greatly. I was out of commission for the next 10 days. When I go through these bad stretches, it’s really bad. I’m talking like it takes all my strength to do basic daily tasks (bathe, eat, get out of bed, go for a walk, engage in conversation, mentally lock in). One night of not caring about the consequences led to days of massive pain.

I’ve had to curb the right tail of my life’s distribution curve. I try to limit the highs because that usually equates to limiting the lows. Which means I’m going to miss out on some stuff (shoulder shrug). At least I still get to be here, some aren’t so lucky. The experiences happen quickly but the lessons take a while to develop. It’s hard to comprehend what’s actually happening sometimes. The most valuable days, in terms of learning lessons, are the days when I feel worst. Unfortunately, writing on those days usually isn’t an option. I think we can all learn a lot about “how to live” by reflecting on our worst days. It’s uncomfortable, painful and depressing to look back and relive our toughest moments but that’s where opportunity is. I’ve done my share of frowning and being upset these last few months, with my Mom, Dad and brothers catching the brunt of it. By leaning on them and relying on unrelenting hope I’ve made it this far. And don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

You know it’s funny, some people have told me how inspiring I’ve been these last few months. At first I thought “what’s so inspiring about laying on a couch or only working a handful of hours a week? How is napping 3 times a day inspiring to people?” I soon came to a realization. Inspiration lies in the crevasses of life. Inspiration is born from attitude, perspective and resilience. Inspiration is suffering with a smile.I go for my 6 month check-up in a couple weeks, fingers crossed for remission. If not, well, I’ll do my best to smile on.

Negative Space: Why It Always Feels Like the Top

by

In the movie A Quiet Place, the story follows the Abbott family. The Abbotts live in a post-apocalyptic world that has been decimated by extraterrestrial creatures who hunt by sound. As we quickly learn in the first few minutes of the film, the family’s survival is dependent upon silence. Anybody who makes even the slightest noise is promptly attacked by the aliens.

To give you an idea of just how silent this film is: the first half hour contains no spoken dialogue. The tension created by this silence is captivating. I found myself anxious and filled with dread each time a character did something that might make a sound. The anticipation of noise and the understanding of its consequences had me on the edge of my seat. Every sound, no matter how faint, seemed like it could end the Abbotts.

A Quiet Place brilliantly leverages the power of silence. This contrast effect is often referred to in art as the use of negative space. Negative space speaks to the idea that the absence of something can have as much of an impact as its presence.

  • In a photograph, the area surrounding the main subject is negative space
  • In a song, that dramatic pause at just the right moment is negative space
  • In A Quiet Place, the silence is negative space.

For investors, rising prices are negative space.

The contrast between rising and falling prices creates the same tension I felt watching A Quiet Place. As the market rises, we’re constantly bracing for the next crash. This mindset has been especially prevalent of late with all the talk surrounding the “longest bull market ever”. The longer it’s been since the last crash, the greater the anticipation builds.

This constant anticipation of doomsday creates a paradoxical environment where the higher the market climbs, the more anxiety and dread we feel. It’s why every dip in the market legitimately feels like it could be the top. The perma-bears know this, and will convincingly use the contrast effect to warn you for the hundredth time since 2009 that, “we’re due”.

It’s true that this bull run cannot last forever. Eventually there will be a top before we descend into the next bear market. But how will we know in the moment whether it’s the real deal or a false alarm? Is there any value in predicting sixteen of the last two bear markets? Will there be commemorative plaques for those who nail the top?

If your financial plan’s success is dependent upon calling the top of this market cycle, then you’re right to be worried. Trying to time the market is a terrific way to erode your investment returns into the dirt. Bear markets are an inevitable part of investing, so having a financial plan and investment portfolio that can get you through them (psychologically and monetarily) is vital.

Tim’s Top Links – 8/17/18

by

In case you missed it, yesterday Ep. 031 of Living With Money was published.  I talked with Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance at Morningstar.  We talked about all things personal finance, and touched on a number of different books/blog posts Christine has written over her career that everybody should check out.

You can find the episode here, or on iTunes!

Here’s what I’ve been reading this morning:

‘What Do You Do?’ – Blair duQuesnay – The Belle Curve

‘The Half-Life of Investment Strategies’ – Ben Carlson – A Wealth of Common Sense

‘A Factor-Based Approach to Disruptor-Based Sectors’ – Nathan Faber – Newfound Research

‘Buyback Derangement Syndrome’ – Clifford Asness – The Wall Street Journal

‘Walmart Thrives Despite Competitive Onslaught’ – Zain Akbari – Morningstar

ENJOY!

Tims Top Links 768x542 2