Salient to Investors: Sheila Bair at Systemic Risk Council, a nonpartisan group whose members include Paul Volcker and Paul O’Neill, said nothing has fundamentally changed to address the structural weaknesses of money funds. To halt the 2008 Lehman-triggered run, the Treasury Department guaranteed all money-fund shareholders against losses from default. The
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: John Maynard Keynes wrote in 1934: “As time goes on, I get more and more convinced that the right method in investment is to put fairly large sums into enterprises which one thinks one knows something about and in the management of which one thoroughly believes.” And:
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Fareed Zakaria said: Both the American left and right are concerned about the declining mobility of the American dream. Countries that invest more heavily in children’s health care, nutrition, and education, well-being more generally end up with a much stronger ladder of opportunity and access than America.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Warren Buffett shares of Wells Fargo for the 9th straight quarter, to Berkshire’s largest holding in a portfolio that includes Coca-Cola, American Express, and IBM. Buffett has not added to American Express and Coca-Cola since the 1990s. Buffett favors making concentrated bets on companies he’s studied for years. Jeff Matthews, author of books
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Megan McArdle writes: The Department of Labor is reported to be moving toward making brokers et al “fiduciaries” to their clients, so they would have to offer advice in your best interest, and avoid conflicts of interest such as accepting fees to put you into low-return, high-fee
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The Weitz Value and Weitz Partners Value funds each have cash stakes close to 30 percent. The Yacktman Focused fund has 19 percent in cash. The Westwood Income Opportunity fund has 16 percent in cash, The IVA Worldwide Fund has 28 percent in cash, the GoodHaven fund has 33 percent in cash. Morninstar
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Top investing myths: Buy and hold forever. Better to buy and protect as companies and economies change. Have an exit plan to guard against catastrophic loss. Only performance matters. Let you investment objectives guide your investment selection and diversity. Charts are for traders. Charts are important tools
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Matthew C. Klein writes: The Wall Street Journal reports that well-to-do young Americans prefer to invest into “safe” luxury real estate rather than “risky” equities. The article could have been written in 2002 or 2003 before the housing bubble and bust. $100 invested at the market peak
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: AFK is the most actively traded Africa ETF and the first ETF to move to weighting holdings based on GDP of the countries it tracks. The vast majority of ETFs that focus on foreign countries and regions are weighted by market cap, which captures only the shares
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jonathan Weil writes: The reason it’s a good idea to separate securities firms from commercial banks is to protect consumers from brokers selling schlock investments. There are countless tales of banks cross-selling unsuitable investments to unsophisticated customers. Many people trust the advice they get from their local
READ MORE... →