FVIM's Insights

It’s nowhere near April 1st, but it seems there already are plenty of pundits making foolish predictions about what the markets have in store for us for all of 2016 – as if a few, admittedly raucous days foretell the tenor for the rest of the year. The popular media – and, let’s face it, we readers – seem to enjoy shivering over scary market absolutes, indulging in oversized headlines like, “ Dow has worst four-day start to a year on record ,” accompanied by the usual images of anxious exchange traders clutching their heads in disbelief. The implication is that...

There are several ways investors can go about making important financial decisions. One way is described by financial commentator Barry Ritholtz when he tweeted: “My training as a trader consisted of being push[ed] into [the] deep end of the pool while someone yelled ‘swim.’” Fortunately for Ritholtz, he managed to stay afloat in his sink-or-swim trial. He’s a no-nonsense New Yorker, so maybe that explains it. For most of us, there is a much easier way: working with an objective and independent advisor who has your back as well as your best interests in mind. But don’t just take my word for...

Having begun his career with a “modest” inheritance of around $100 million, is Donald Trump now worth $3–4 billion, or in excess of $10 billion? As described in this article by Reuters’ James Saft , it depends on whether the media’s estimates or Trump’s own proclamations are closer to the truth. For practical purposes, it’s a moot point either way. Of greater interest, Saft’s article also explored an alternate universe, in which Trump decides to skip all of his high-profile business dealings, plop his original nest egg into a basic, index-based investment strategy and let the market do the heavy lifting...

We hear this one a lot: Preserve your principal and live off of the proceeds in retirement . When interest rates disappoint, this often translates into investing in dividend-paying stocks instead. Unfortunately, while a focus on dividend stocks may be a common denominator found in many retirees’ investment equations, the logic doesn’t quite add up. Let’s go over why this is so, and why there may be better ways to both preserve and enjoy your total wealth. Money = Money It’s true that the notion of “principal” versus “interest” versus “dividends” can make for convenient mental accounting when managing your money....