“Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value.” Read more…

Valuation – the price you pay for earnings, assets minus liabilities, cash flow, etc – is one of the best indicators of future returns.  In general, we experience lower returns when valuations are high (i.e. stocks are more expensive), and higher returns when valuations are low (stocks are cheaper). Read more…

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Donating appreciated securities to charity makes much more sense than first selling the security, paying the taxes and then donating the remaining proceeds to the charity. As the donor, you save money on taxes and receive the full benefit of the tax deduction—and the charity receives the full value Read more…

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We never cease to be amazed at what little time is spent by the typical investor trying to get a handle on what his or her investing costs are. It’s amazing because, aside from the fact that costs can have a major impact on portfolio returns, they are still the only thing that we, as investors, Read more…

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The data below, which shows the growth of $1.00 in various asset classes (listed from least risky to most risky), reinforces rather dramatically the fact that the best returns in the stock market do indeed come from owning the riskier parts of the market. Using this type of data to determine the Read more…

From Plancorp’s perspective, the answer for most investors is bond funds. Bond funds, especially in the municipal (tax-exempt) market, can offer many advantages over a portfolio made up of individual bonds… Read more…

Listed below are some of the risks and considerations associated with hedge fund investing: Read more…