The 2nd quarter saw a tremendous recovery in global markets, leaving many people surprised as the market seemed to move upward in the midst of a lot of bad news. This is not unusual, as the market is a leading indicator of expectations and will … [Read more...] about Quarterly Commentary (Q2 2020)
Blog
How To Lie With Statistics – COVID Edition
Statistical crimes are off the charts (no pun intended) in 2020. Why? It's easy to accept a chart or graph on the internet at face value without diving into it any deeper. A little book I love is a short read written by Darrell Huff in 1954 titled … [Read more...] about How To Lie With Statistics – COVID Edition
A Ulysses Contract
Ulysses (Greek name Odysseus) was the Greek King of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Odyssey. After the Trojan War, Ulysses had a long journey back to Ithaca. Along the way, he had an extended visit with the witch-goddess, Circe, who advised him on the … [Read more...] about A Ulysses Contract
Revisiting Small Cap Value Investing
"The variance of happiness is how we are doing comparatively" -Annie Duke In September of last year I wrote about the declared death of small cap value investing (link). It was no secret at that time that US Large Cap Growth stocks had been … [Read more...] about Revisiting Small Cap Value Investing
Today is an Historic Day
I know in 2020 we have all become a bit numb to bizarre things happening, but the price of a barrel for West Texas crude oil dropped to negative $39.55 today. Yes, the producers are paying people to take it off their hands as storage facilities are … [Read more...] about Today is an Historic Day
Quarterly Commentary (Q1 2020)
The One Year Anniversary of Meredith Wealth Planning Before I dive into the quarterly commentary, I wanted to take a moment and mention that March 6th was the one year anniversary of starting this firm. My days at TheBANK of Edwardsville feel like … [Read more...] about Quarterly Commentary (Q1 2020)
Revisiting a Market Timing Strategy
Back in December I wrote about a market timing strategy that has shown to work over a limited sample size. It had shown to provide a little better return than the overall market with significantly less downside risk. I thought it would be "good … [Read more...] about Revisiting a Market Timing Strategy
Quick Thoughts
We have implemented a recession in order to control the outbreak of the Coronavirus. While we're all wondering when this pandemic will end, and if the economy will recover within a reasonable length of time, I have been thinking about this … [Read more...] about Quick Thoughts
Collective Sacrifice
Once upon a time Collinsville, IL was nationally recognized as a high school basketball powerhouse. I remember going on a family vacation to Florida as a child and someone asking our family where we were from. When we replied "Collinsville, Illinois" … [Read more...] about Collective Sacrifice
Financial Therapy
"Stocks won't make you wealthy. Your behavior around stocks makes you wealthy" -Nick Murray I know enough to know that clients don't always appreciate hearing the following from their advisor at a time like this: -"Stay the … [Read more...] about Financial Therapy