We finally have a resolution to the takeover of Allergan and boy did we benefit as shareholders. After a long battle against Bill Ackman and Valeant Pharmaceuticals that began with a takeover offer in April, Allergan has decided to accept a “friendly” takeover offer from Actavis for $219/share valued at $66 billion. I was initially…
What I’m Most Concerned About Right Now – Pain Ahead for the Emerging Markets
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we could be in the early innings of a bull market in the US dollar. Since the Great Recession in 2008-09, it seems like fewer and fewer assets are trading freely off of their own fundamentals with everything moving together against the US dollar. Lately, it’s been US…
Retirement Income Series, Part 3: Selling Options for Income
This post is going to talk about perhaps my favorite source of investment income. It’s something that very few people take advantage of because it can be a little confusing to learn but is ultimately well worth the time. I will go as far as to say that it is probably the most misunderstood and…
Why there is Confusion in the Markets Right Now
Stocks have had a pretty bumpy ride over the last three weeks, with the S&P 500 falling exactly 10% from the September 19th high. The S&P 500 cash index, which is what you see quoted on TV and in the paper, fell almost 9.9% but the S&P 500 futures fell exactly 10.0% and turned on…
Is a Falling Stock Market Time to Sell or Buy?
The answer is “Yes.” I had a great math teacher in high school. The course was Algebra 3/Trigonometry. After teaching a lesson he would often say: “Is it algebra 3 or trigonometry?… Yes.” Most people will talk about stocks as a whole and ask questions like “should I be buying (or selling) stocks right now?”…
How Actively Managed Mutual Funds are Scoring
Earlier this month, S&P Dow Jones Indices released their semi-annual report on mutual funds which compares actively managed funds to index funds. It’s called the SPIVA report, which stands for S&P Index vs. Active management, and the results, once again, don’t bode well for actively managed mutual funds. I’ve never been a big fan of…
Recent Portfolio Updates
I’ve been a lot more active over the past few weeks as fewer and fewer stocks are participating in the rally to new highs. Small caps in particular have been showing signs of weakness so I’ve been reducing exposure there quite a bit. We’ve had signs all summer that the rally is losing steam. We may…
What’s Been Catching My Eye Lately
Rollover of After-Tax 401(k) Dollars to a Roth IRA Last week the IRS finally produced a ruling on whether or not you’re able to rollover after-tax dollars in a 401(k) to a Roth IRA tax-free, which is different from actually having a separate Roth 401(k) account available. The IRS has ruled that after-tax and pre-tax…