I read this question in a recent issue of the Yoga Journal magazine: “I don’t want to support tobacco companies or environmental polluters, but my broker claims that socially responsible investing will cost me. How can I persuade my broker to make investments that align with my values?” The official answer from the magazine pointed […]
Latest Blog Posts
Take the Bait On No Interest Financing?
No interest, no payments for 12 months! That’s a typical financing offer by furniture and electronics stores. I noticed recently some airlines started offering the same type of financing. For example American Airlines’ credit card offers 6 months no payments, no interest on purchases from aa.com. These cards are specific to the airline. They don’t have a Visa or MasterCard logo. You can’t […]
What To Do If Your Health Insurance Says Your Treatment Is Not Covered
Last Friday, I happened to pick up a copy of the Wall Street Journal somebody left on the train. There was an intriguing article on the front page — How U.S. Health System Can Fail Even the Insured. It’s a long story but the story line is familiar. A Mrs. Barbara Calder has a rare genetic illness but […]
Opt Out of Credit Card Convenience Checks
It’s getting close to the holiday shopping season. I have received several convenience checks from my credit cards. These convenience checks are usually treated as cash advance which carries a fee. They also make the grace period on purchases disappear. I usually just shred them. I called my credit card company about something else yesterday. While I had […]
Cost of Driving One Mile
Today is Veteran’s Day. I’m able to take the commuter train today because many people are off today. I’d like to take the train more often but there is very limited parking at the train station. I sometimes drove to the train station and had to drive away because there was no parking. Taking the train is not […]
Subprime Correction Is Over, Really
It took a week after my pronouncement that the subprime induced stock market correction is over. Now it’s really over. The major indexes for both the U.S. and the international market, the Dow, S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, all went over their previous highs. I’d like to enter these notes for myself as lessons learned from […]
Rebalancing With New Cash
Portfolio rebalancing is often described as looking at one’s portfolio at the end of the year, selling some winners and buying some losers, so the portfolio goes back to the intended asset allocation. I don’t do that. I don’t sell anything unless I’m trying to simplify my positions. I rebalance throughout the year with new cash. Because stock funds usually grow […]
What Type of Bank Is Your Bank?
No, it’s not a trick question. While most people think a bank is a bank is a bank, the financial institutions we usually call a “bank” actually come in many different flavors. Some are organized under federal laws, some under state laws. Some are a special kind called thrift, savings and loan or savings association. […]
Investments I Don’t Have
I wrote about my asset allocation in a previous post. This time I’m writing about what I don’t have. 1. No individual stocks, except unvested employer stock-based compensation. I believe picking stocks is a waste of time. I had tried picking stocks in the past. I spent a lot of time reading 10-Q/10-K reports, studying Wall Street sell-side […]
Subprime Induced Correction Is Over
It’s not official yet, but I suspect it will be shortly. The summer 2007 subprime induced stock market correction is over. The emerging markets index already went over its previous peak by about 4%. The S&P 500 and MSCI EAFE indexes are about 1% shy of their previous high. Given the daily volatility, the stock markets can easily reach new […]