The Financial Shift

Financial theory crisis persists - FT.com

The universal abhorrence of equities has reached the pitch where it is suggestive. That is not to say they are particularly cheap right now. And indeed, I have more immediate plans for my savings, such as paying for the kids through university.

But if I had time in hand, I would rely on what seems to me the soundest piece of folk wisdom the stock market has to offer: buy them when they’re friendless.

tony.jackson@ft.com

via www.ft.com

BERK: Equities are unpopular, very unpopular...Buy them now if you have time.

Markets: Out of stock - FT.com

The end of a six-decade passion for equities could lead to a less flexible, more conservative model of corporate financing

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Losing their shares: fretful investors at a US brokerage in the 1960s. Today’s investors, too, are worried about when equities will bounce back

via www.ft.com

Death of Equities??? Again: Time to Buy

This year Goldman Sachs published a widely read report arguing that: “Given current valuations, we think it’s time to say a ‘long good bye’ to bonds, and embrace the ‘long good buy’ for equities as we expect them to embark on an upward trend over the next few years.”

However, this argument is more about bonds than stocks. With the recent crashes preceded by great bull markets, stock performance in the past 30 years has not been historically unusual. But yields on US Treasury bonds peaked in 1981 and global sovereign debt prices have risen steadily ever since. Buoyed initially by the US Federal Reserve’s success in bringing inflation (the enemy of bondholders) under control, and more recently by their “haven” status as investors sought to protect themselves against risks elsewhere, government bonds are now more expensive than at any time in history.

via www.ft.com

This article argues that the world's investing public has grown very wary of stocks. They are in love bonds at the what many think is the absolute top in the bond market. BUY stocks of great companies now.

Neat tool to budget, consolidate debt and plan to get out of debt

 

CARPE DIEM: Five Money-Saving Websites

Five Money-Saving Websites

Five new sites to help you save money, from US News and World Report.

1. Priceonomics - a price guide for everything (featured on CD).

2. Aisle50 - Like Groupon, but for groceries.

3. Dealupa - a single place to find the best daily deals, organized according to their quality and relevance to you.

4.  Carsabi - the ultimate online tool for used-car research.

5.  SpringCoin -- an automated, online debt-relief and debt- management website.

via mjperry.blogspot.com

No Commissions, No Extra Fees and Direct Ownership of Stock: Folio


Although not a household name, Folio Investing offers something that virtually no other brokerage firm does: the ability to easily and accurately implement and maintain a percentage-based investment plan.

Most brokerage firms are stuck in the 1950′s. “Hey, Jim-Bob, can you buy me 100 shares of XYZ stock?”

Who does that any more? Most people want to execute a percentage-based asset allocation plan. Let’s say I have 8 different ETFs that I want to buy in a pre-set percentage. To do that at a traditional brokerage firm, I have to convert percentages to dollars then dollars to shares and then individually place each trade. There’s significant time and effort involved, not to mention a high margin of error (what if I miscalculate and buy $100,000 instead of $10,000? what if I overbuy my IRA?).

Then, one year later, if my allocation is off, rebalancing involves a spreadsheet exercise which can quickly get time-consuming and complicated (for example, 8 funds across 4 different accounts creates a multitude of calculations and transactions… and if you’re “tax-engineering” your portfolio across taxable and tax-deferred accounts? What a nightmare).

Folio’s technology platform is built on percentages. It is similar to a 401(k) environment. You create a “folio” and then “subscribe” one or more of your accounts to that folio. Their platform then does all of the calculations and with a few clicks you are invested precisely according to spec.

When you rebalance, Folio offers multiple options from “rebalance only” which buys and sells as appropriate to get you to your target, to “buy only rebalance” and “sell only rebalance” which allow you to deposit or withdraw funds in a way that leaves your account as close to target after the funds are added or withdrawn.

via www.obliviousinvestor.com