Serious Money Talks

2021 Year-End Thoughts

I’m writing this with three days left in 2021, looking back on this past year and looking forward to 2022. I have some thoughts to share with you, in no particular order.

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Lifeboat Drills (Version 2021)

Long-term clients and readers of this newsletter will recall my occasional discussions of “LifeBoat Drills.” Unlike when you board a cruise ship and learn what to do in case of emergency, my LifeBoat Drills focus on what not to do in case of a market emergency.

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Afraid of New Highs?

In an earlier post I talked about one of the media narratives that prices are too high to remain optimistic about the market. And now the market's even higher, so now the scenario may seem even more foreboding. Before I suggested three considerations in response to possible fears. Let's expand on those considerations here.

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Be Wary of Election Year Narratives

Clearly election season is upon us. How do we know that? Well, of course the Democrats are debating and campaigning in order to secure a presidential nominee. Also, President Trump’s rallies are occurring more frequently in swing states. These are the obvious cues. There are also less obvious cues.

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What’s not important now? What is?

Market volatility has once again made headlines. What's important to know and understand?

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What Resonates with You?

The investment philosophy of our Serious Money Approach rests upon 3 key principles: Faith in the Future Problems get solved even if we can’t predict how it will happen. Patience Problems get solved even if we can’t predict when it will happen. Discipline Doing what almost always works and not trying something that hasn’t. I want to illustrate how the three principles work...

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Is the market just like a casino?

With the market enjoying a significant rally for the past two months following a big downturn in the market at the beginning of the year, I’m reminded of a statement made to me years ago by a worried investor: “The market is just a big gamble, like a casino.” It is true that the market can gyrate up and down, and it is true that the movements can appear to be random, and it is also true...

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The Market Rebounds: Is the correction over?

You may remember how the market began 2016. I used the word “dreary” in my newsletter of January 16, 2016. It is now two months later and we are witnessing a big rebound in the market, such that, as I write, the market has erased its entire negative performance for the year and we are now in positive territory for 2016. I ended my January newsletter with three lessons that I have learned...

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The Correction (and Progress!) Continues

Last month’s newsletter explained that the market is currently in a correction mode. Since then, the market has been up, then down, and up again. There is no good way to determine whether the correction is now over, and until we can be sure, let’s assume that the correction is continuing. In January I attended the third Abundance360 conference in Los Angeles. The room was packed with...

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Let’s talk about this correction…

As I write this on January 19, 2016, the stock market ended 2015 and began 2016 on a dreary note, declining 10-12% in value. This is a market correction, the type of market condition that I’ve written about in several recent newsletters and in my 2013 book, The Serious Money Train (from which I will take the liberty of quoting freely).  At this point in the cycle, we don’t yet know if this...

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