fbpx

Investment Management

  • Thoughts on the Sluggish Economic Recovery

    As many investors know U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) declined in the first quarter. That marked the third quarter in which the economy contracted since the current recovery commenced. This year’s decline has been attributed to a number of one-time… Read More

  • Chief Investment Officer published in The Business Monthly!

    BWFA’s Chief Investment Officer Rob Williams was recently published in The Business Monthly! Williams explains why Americans holding high cash balances feel left behind by strides in the stock market, and can sometimes miss out on enhancing retirement savings. You… Read More

  • Misplaced Incentives?

    The pay earned by corporate executives has risen rapidly in the last 25 years. According to data provided by Bloomberg, GoPro founder Nicholas Woodman, who earned $285.3 million last year, is currently the top paid executive. (In the chart that… Read More

  • Hold the Pickles; Hold the Lettuce; Special Charges May Upset Us

    In the 1970s, Burger King ran Whopper commercials using the tag line “Have it Your Way” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJXzkUH72cY. When it comes to reporting earnings, many companies take the opposite approach, by presenting earnings “Their Way.” This earnings presentation has also been… Read More

  • The Changing World of Payments

    Do you pay for everything you buy with cash, check or traditional credit card? While the vast majority of retail transactions are still conducted via such traditional means, we look to be in the early days of a change in… Read More

  • Savings on Gas Not Benefiting Retail Sales

    When oil prices tumbled from their heights of last July (~$108 per barrel) to their lows in March (~$43), one of the most common refrains was that lower gasoline costs would function as a “tax cut for the consumer” that… Read More

  • Forecasting is Too Hard, Especially in the Short Term

    One of the biggest advantages of value investing is that it essentially takes away the need to make predictions about what will happen in the future. When pricing assets, value investors determine value based on data from the present. On… Read More

  • First Quarter GDP Grew 0.2% – Should Investors Care?

    Last Wednesday, we learned that the U.S. economy grew at a relatively anemic 0.2% annualized rate in the first quarter. This was a sharp decline from the prior quarter when gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.2%. It was the… Read More

  • Meandering Market Reaches New High

    After closing at a record high more than 50 times in 2014, the S&P 500 Index has closed at a new high only six times so far in 2015 – this past Friday was the sixth. In fact, in 2015,… Read More

  • Staying away from Wall Street’s Obsessions

    For at least several decades, Wall Street has been obsessed with the actions of the Federal Reserve. Market followers with shorter memories are at least aware of the Fed’s extraordinarily accommodative monetary policy in the six years since the 2008/2009… Read More

  • Retail Spending: The Economy’s Missing Link?

    Gasoline prices have fallen considerably from their year-ago levels. Against this backdrop, consumer spending continues to disappoint. It seems households are choosing to save the amounts they are saving at the pump instead of spending it on goods and services…. Read More

  • Corporate Cash Balances Continue to Rise

    According to FactSet Research, at January’s end, cash and short-term investments held on the balance sheets of companies in the S&P 500 (ex-Financials) settled at a record-high balance of $1.43 trillion (blue bars in chart). The prior record, which was… Read More

  • Who Will Buy Your Business?

    By:  Brian MacMilllan | Managing Director Mergers & Aquisitions Selling a privately held business is complicated. If you are a business owner, understanding the options available to you when selling your business can make a huge difference both in how much you receive from the… Read More

  • Bundling Services: The Best Way To Maximize Value From Financial Professionals

    By:  Benjamin Dorsey,CPA, CFP®, CDFA™, MST | Director of Tax Services Professional financial advisors work with clients on investment, planning, and/or tax strategies. Unfortunately, when financial advisors of different disciplines are not in sync and/or not working with the entire set of goals and information,… Read More

  • Investors Hold Too Much Cash

    By:  Rob Williams, CFP®, MSF | Chief Investment Officer High cash balances are one reason why so many Americans feel left behind while the stock market roars ahead. They also represent a threat to the long-term security of many investors. A recent study by the investment management corporation BlackRock… Read More

  • Is It Time To Increase Allocations To Foreign Securities?

    By:  Philip Weiss, CFA , CPA | Chief Investment Analyst Does what goes down come back up? Investors who practice asset allocation answer this question affirmatively every time they rebalance their portfolio. After all, asset allocation is primarily based on the idea that investors should reposition… Read More

  • Fed Statement About More Than Patience

    On Wednesday, Fed policy makers dropped the word “patient” from their official statement on monetary policy. For months, many members of the financial media have been fixated on when the word “patient” would be removed from the Fed’s statement. On… Read More

  • Share Repurchase Activity Remains Elevated

    Despite the market’s uneven performance so far this year, corporations continue to aggressively repurchase stock. According to preliminary data from S&P Dow Jones Indexes, in 2014 U.S. multinationals spent $553 billion on buybacks and another $350 billion on dividends. This… Read More

  • Corporate Report Card: Reviewing a 10-K

    By early March, most public companies have to file their 10-Ks. (For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a 10-K is an annual report required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that gives a comprehensive summary of a company’s… Read More

  • Tune Out the Noise and Embrace Volatility

    Over the last six months, equity markets have become more volatile. The VIX, which is the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s widely followed measure of volatility on the S&P 500, spiked several times in January.  As shown in the below chart… Read More

  • A Look at the Connected Car

    A connected car is equipped with internet connections and software. This connectivity allows people to stream music, look up movie times, be alerted to traffic and weather conditions and power driving-assistance services such as self-parking. It can also provide automatic… Read More

  • Are Corporate Boards Effective?

    At its core, the purpose of a company’s board is to provide strong oversight and strategic support for management’s efforts to create long-term value. The board’s effectiveness in this role is a crucial part of a firm’s long-term success. Unfortunately,… Read More

  • Activists: Good or Bad?

    In 2014, the number of firms targeted by activists reached a record high. According to a study co-produced by the research firm Activist Insight and law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel, activists, mostly hedge funds, targeted 344 companies last year,… Read More

  • Behavioral Investing

    By:  Philip Weiss, CFA , CPA | Chief Investment Analyst Why do investors often have a tendency to sell stocks when they are low and buy them when they are high? When investing, our emotions can often overrule our well-thought-out plans. As the… Read More

  • BWFA is Bullish on America

    By:  Bob Ray, MBA | Financial Advisor & Portfolio Manager As we usher in 2015, the United States appears poised to once again be the engine that drives worldwide growth. This has not happened in over twenty years. We have… Read More

  • The Irrational Effects of Financial Trauma

    By:  Jim Edwards, CFP ® | Financial Advisor & Portfolio Manager Financial trauma can occur through a variety of means. It can occur on a personal basis such as a job loss, bankruptcy, or divorce. It can also occur systemically through… Read More

  • Mutual Funds and The Pitfalls of Chasing Returns

    It is important for investors to understand the challenges and motivations that mutual fund managers face as they manage fund portfolios. For many of us, mutual funds are the primary investment vehicles in  our employer-sponsored retirement plans. However, the misguided behavior… Read More

  • A Balancing Act: 5 Steps for Creating a Sound Portfolio

    By:  Joseph A. Caputo | Chief Information Officer & Associate Portfolio Manager Creating a well-balanced, diverse portfolio of securities can be tricky. It requires time, discipline, and research. There are many factors to consider when developing an investment portfolio appropriate… Read More

  • First Rate Hike Is Not Imminent

    Last Wednesday’s statement by the Federal Reserve did not include any changes to monetary policy. In fact, there was little in the Fed’s statement that surprised investors. The Fed maintained its language that it “can be patient in beginning to… Read More

  • Quantitative Easing Comes to Europe

    Last Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) finally launched its bid to revitalize the eurozone’s economy and counter the threat of deflation with a €60 billion-a-month bond-buying program that was far bigger than investors anticipated. ECB president Mario Draghi said… Read More

  • Long-Term Investing Still Works

    From time to time, there are headlines saying long-term investing is “dead.” The evidence from major stock exchanges highlights that the thinking of investors has become more short term over time, at least based on the average holding period of… Read More

  • Market Volatility and Time in the Market

    As discussed last week, we believe greater uncertainty about interest rates will cause market volatility to increase. While greater market fluctuation can be unsettling at times, it is important to remember that sell-offs do happen. Sometimes they can be quite… Read More

  • Looking Forward to 2015

    As we enter the start of another year, it is relatively easy to come across 2015 market forecasts when perusing the financial news. Recently, we expressed our disdain for sales forecasts for the holiday season. In general, we are skeptical… Read More

  • Fed Drops “Considerable Time” Reference

    In its December policy statement released this past Wednesday, the Fed changed the wording about when it might start to raise interest rates. It dropped the “considerable time” reference and substituted wording that it could be “patient in the beginning… Read More

  • The Fallacy of Holiday Sales Forecasts

    It seems hard to believe, but the traditional holiday season is already more than half over. As always, there have been numerous forecasts about how retailers will fair during the holiday season. The most commonly cited estimate is put forth… Read More

  • What Happened to Oil Prices?

    Long-time followers of the oil markets, who are honest with themselves, should readily admit how hard it is to forecast oil prices. Many unpredictable factors can impact oil prices (e.g., geopolitics, foreign currency risk – oil is only priced in… Read More

  • When Share Prices Fall…

    For those that invest with a value-based perspective, seeing the share price of a potential investment fall is typically thought of as an opportunity. This view aligns with the concept of mean reversion, which in investing, basically says that periods… Read More

  • Capital Allocation and Empire Building

    In our view, allocating capital is one of management’s most important responsibilities. There are several ways management can allocate the capital a company generates, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), capital expenditures (money allocated by a business or organization for the… Read More

  • The End of Quantitative Easing

    On Wednesday, the Fed ended the third round of Quantitative Easing (QE3). At its inception in September 2012, many were critical of the policy, fearing it would lead to higher inflation and a weaker dollar. As can be seen from… Read More

  • Surveying the Labor Market

    For the week ended October 18, initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 283,000. The four-week average for initial claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell 3,000 to 281,000, its lowest level since May 2000…. Read More

  • The Oil Price Slide

    A review of the S&P 500 Index’s returns by sector over the last one, three, six, and 12 months, as well as year-to-date, shows that energy has easily been the worst performer over all periods. In fact, while the energy… Read More

  • Building Infrastructure in the Developing World

    Technology in the world around us is changing incrementally every day. These changes are much more noticeable when you look over long periods. In some ways, developing nations (for example, China, Brazil) have a significant opportunity relative to the developed… Read More

  • Thoughts on Recent Market Activity

    Even after delivering strong gains on Friday, the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are both down roughly 2% from their recent record highs. In general terms, a 2% market decline is somewhat commonplace, meaning it is… Read More

  • BWFA’s Approach to Risk Management

    By:  Chris Kelly, CPA, CFP ®, M. Accy | Financial Advisor and Portfolio Manager The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines risk as,“the chance that an investment will lose value.” This “chance of loss” is what the professional portfolio managers at BWFA strive… Read More

  • Assessing Management Quality

    By:  Philip Weiss, CFA, CPA | Chief Investment Analyst When evaluating companies for potential investment, two of the most important aspects are valuation and management quality. Although our research process is based on bottom-up fundamental analysis, it still requires a… Read More

  • Concerns in Europe can Lead to Opportunity

    Diversified investment portfolios should include an allocation to international assets. The goal is to improve the portfolio’s long-term, “risk-adjusted” returns, or, put more simply, to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. However, economic and market cycles can and… Read More

  • Are Politicians Controlling Your Portfolio?

    We often hear sound bites from political wonks and then watch for a response in the equity markets. It’s worse than usual right now because this is an election year in the U.S., and European political leaders are still struggling… Read More

  • Managing Risk Through Asset Allocation

    Each of us is constantly allocating personal resources. We have an umbrella for rainy days and sunglasses for sunny days. We fill our bathroom cabinet with cold and cough medicine for those days we can’t get out of bed and… Read More

  • The Search for Income

    With the Federal Reserve continuing to keep short-term interest rates at close to zero, retirees and investors are faced with the problem of how to generate current income from their investments. The low- interest-rate environment has resulted in money market… Read More

  • It’s Been a Lost Decade for Most Equity Investors, But it Didn’t Have to Be

    Back about 10 years ago, I spent a lot of time trying to explain to folks why just buying the S&P 500 index was a bad idea. I remember vividly how some of our clients and prospects at the time… Read More

  • What to do About Market Volatility

    Investors are upset by the recent big increase in the number of wild days in the stock market. After any volatile period, some investors react emotionally-and they suffer real harm. Some investors settle for safe investments that offer rates of… Read More

  • Investment Themes for a Slow-Growth Economy

    The annualized growth rate for the United States economy was approximately 2% for the first half of this year. Given the massive amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus from the federal government, this growth rate is considered anemic at best,… Read More

  • Addressing Investor Trepidation

    At any given moment, investors are confronted with a vast array of economic and political issues that affect the global investment landscape. These often dire events create market uncertainty—which, in turn, leads directly to investor apprehension. Based on our conversations… Read More

  • QE 2 — Quantitative Easing, Second Round

    What is Quantitative Easing (QE 2), and how does it work? Here is how we define it: An attempt by the Federal Reserve to reduce longer-term interest rates by buying longer-term government securities in the market for cash (which the… Read More

  • The Overseas Investments You Do Not See

    Clients often ask us how much of their money is invested in foreign countries. Usually, they have heard that economies in countries such as China, India, or Brazil are growing faster than the U.S. economy, and they want to make… Read More

  • Stocks vs. Bonds in a Low-Interest Rate Environment

    It’s no secret that bond portfolios have outperformed stock portfolios through August of this year. Stocks have performed poorly as the economy weakened in the second and third quarters, while bonds have benefitted from investors reaching for yield and safety…. Read More

  • Goldman Sachs: Brokers vs. Fiduciaries

    The Goldman Sachs story is arguably the most important story on Wall Street because it calls into question the nature of how “markets are made” and the conflicts that exist between brokers and their clients. Brokers operate under a “suitability”… Read More

  • TIPS for Protecting Your Investments from Inflation

    Will our government’s massive, potentially out-of-control spending and stimulus programs eventually lead to high inflation? Many of our clients have asked this question and want to know what BWFA will do to protect their investments against this threat. We think… Read More

  • BWFA’s Approach to Risk Management

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines risk as, “the chance that an investment will lose value”. This “chance of loss” is what the professional portfolio managers at BWFA strive to manage on an ongoing basis. Before delving into the intricacies of BWFA’s… Read More

  • The BWFA Advantage

    We are often asked about how BWFA has become one of the most successful Fee-Only financial planning firms in the Mid-Atlantic. What’s our advantage, our secret? Our “secret” isn’t really a secret: Our clients make us a better firm. Because… Read More

  • When the Experts Are Mistaken

    Understanding the financial marketplace is a critical part of a portfolio manager’s job, and listening to experts is one of the ways we gain important insight into what is going on. Of course, we at BWFA take any comment from… Read More

  • Lessons Learned from the Recent Market Collapse

    The 38.5% drop in the S&P 500 during 2008 and the further drop of 25% by March 9, 2009 have tested the tolerance for risk of individual and institutional investors alike. This has been the worst stock market decline of… Read More

  • Linking Corporate Governance and Corporate Financial Performance

    One of the casualties of the recession and stock market plunge has been investors’ confidence in the integrity of the public equities markets and the companies they represent. It’s no secret that management of public companies does not always act… Read More

  • Equity-Indexed Annuities: Are They Too Good to Be True?

    Have you heard of equity-indexed annuities (EIAs)? They promote the dual benefits of a guaranteed, minimum return (limited downside) with market returns (upside potential) based on an equity index. On top of that, you can even defer taxes for years… Read More

  • How to Catch a Falling Knife

    The expression “catch a falling knife” refers to buying stocks or bonds which have fallen significantly in price, with the hope that they will soon return to their former price. If done well, the buyer nets a handsome profit in… Read More

  • Can Investors Trust Brokerage Firms to Hold Their Securities?

    If a brokerage house fails due to bankruptcy or fraud, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) makes sure that investors who hold their stocks, bonds, and mutual funds at that brokerage house get all of their shares back in a… Read More

  • How the Stock Market Responds to a Recession…And What BWFA Is Doing About It

    With talk about a recession widespread, investors are naturally concerned about what will happen to their stocks if a recession actually occurs. Is it time to sell stocks to avoid further declines if the economy continues to weaken? Is it… Read More

  • The Subprime Mortgage Crisis: What Does It Mean for Your Investments?

    Like a spreading fungus, the subprime mortgage crisis has gained footholds across the country and has the potential to bring on a recession in the U.S. — undermining an economy that is in most respects fairly robust. The crisis has… Read More

  • Did 14,000 on the Dow Mean Stocks Were Overvalued?

    In July, major stock indices reached record levels. For the first time ever, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 14,000. The S&P 500 achieved a record level as well. Subsequently, there has been a sharp downturn in the market…. Read More

  • Searching for Mr. Goodyield

    Investment advisors today are frequently asked by clients where they can find an investment that has a good return, will maintain principal value, and won’t keep anyone up at night worrying about credit quality. Instruments that offer a high dividend… Read More

  • Decumulation: BWFA’s Approach

    An important issue that sneaks up on people as they approach retirement is how to cope with the hairs that are popping out of strange places. Another one is how to fund retirement from your savings. Living off your “nest… Read More

  • Measuring Your Investment Return

    Each quarter, we send our investment management clients two reports, the Portfolio Statementand the Portfolio Performance Summary. We have designed these reports to be easier to understand than typical brokerage statements, but they still may be confusing for those not familiar with… Read More

  • Selecting Investments

    One of the questions we get frequently is “How do you select investments?” In this article, I comment on 12 criteria we use to evaluate potential investments for our clients. Only Publicly Traded Securities — We want the relative security provided… Read More

  • Why Large Investors Choose Individual Stocks

    Mutual funds have been around since the 1920s. Since then, they have grown exceedingly popular with the masses. However, high net worth individuals and sophisticated investors continue to choose individual stocks and bonds over mutual funds. Why do they make… Read More

  • Why Diversified Portfolios are Outperforming the S&P 500 Index

    Many people regard the S&P 500 Index as a good measure of how their portfolio is doing. However, an investor with a well balanced and diversified investment portfolio should have outperformed this index over the last five years. That is… Read More

  • The Effect of Interest Rates on Estate Planning

    We often advise our clients with taxable estates to consider gifting strategies that will reduce the portion of their estate subject to estate taxes and also meet their charitable or family goals. The recent rise in interest rates has made… Read More

  • Investing in Trust

    When preparing estate plans, many people believe they must name an institution, such as a bank, as trustee of a trust. Sometimes, naming a professional trustee makes sense, but in many cases it is not necessary. Before you name a… Read More

  • The Advantages of Owning Stocks in Estate Planning

    Individual stocks have advantages over other types of investments when it comes to estate planning. They offer a cost effective way to reduce income taxes, can easily be sold if necessary, and offer an effective way to pass on your… Read More

  • Does “Buy and Hold” Really Work?

    Sometimes we forget just how poorly some large, well established companies can be managed. This list reminds us that a “buy and hold” strategy is unwise. There is no substitute for careful selection and continual reevaluation of your investments. The… Read More

  • Who Is in Control?

    Does working with an Investment Advisor mean giving up control of your investments? Not necessarily. At BWFA, our clients are always in control of their investments. But being in control doesn’t mean that clients have to do all the tedious… Read More

  • If You Are Not Investing in Foreign Securities, You Might Be Missing Something

    BWFA invests a piece of almost every client account in foreign stocks and bonds. In this article we give you our point of view about why these securities add value to our client accounts, and how we participate in foreign… Read More

  • How to Select a Mutual Fund

    Mutual funds offer small investors a way to participate in the financial markets. But, in order to earn a fair return, investors need to do their homework. Evidence shows that most investors do poorly because they select inappropriate funds and… Read More

  • Whatever Happened to the Fidelity Magellan Fund?

    Fidelity Magellan grew to be the largest mutual fund ever, and has also declined in size more than any other fund. The story of how this came about may help our readers see what went wrong. The Fidelity Magellan Fund… Read More

  • What Should You Do If Social Security Offers Private Accounts?

    This article offers a glimpse at how Social Security “private accounts” might work and what you should do if private accounts become part of the Social Security system. We’ll leave the vexing questions regarding whether private accounts are good social… Read More

  • BWFA’s Model Portfolios: Risk Management that Pays Dividends

    Most investors pay scant attention to portfolio risk management. In this article we discuss the importance of risk management, and how we handle portfolio risk for the investment management clients of BWFA. In the 1990’s, as the value of their… Read More

  • Investor Behavior Hurts Investment Returns

    The biggest risk mutual fund investors face in earning a decent return may be their own behavior. A recent study by Dalbar, a financial industry research group, examined real investor returns over a nineteen-year period. It concluded that, �Investment return… Read More

  • Now That You Have Retired, How Much of Your Portfolio Should You Invest in Bonds?

    Conventional wisdom says that investors should determine the percentage of their portfolio they invest in stocks by subtracting their age from 100. The rest of their portfolio should be spread between bonds and cash. According to this wisdom, a 30-year-old… Read More

  • Bonds Are No Safe Haven

    Most investors view bonds as safe securities providing a fixed income until maturity. Especially after experiencing dramatic losses in the stock market, investors may look to bonds to provide a safe haven from the volatility of stocks. But the truth… Read More

  • Beware! Not All Dividends Are Created Equal

    Congress recently passed a bill reducing taxes on dividends from a maximum ordinary income rate of 35% to no more than 15%. This is great news for investors, especially those needing income from their portfolios. We believe the market has… Read More

  • Be Smart — Buy the Right Kind of Investment Return

    Before deciding which investments are best for you, you should look closely at the new tax law, which lowered the rate you pay on dividends and capital gains to 15%. This law has provided investors with some really significant opportunities… Read More

  • Individually Managed Portfolios Not Just for the Super Wealthy

    Those of us who are older than our money remember the days when money managers required at least $1,000,000 before they would attempt to construct an individually managed portfolio of stocks and bonds for a client. The rest of us… Read More

  • Whom Can You Trust?

    If you are outraged by the recent scandals on Wall Street, you have good reason to be. Along with you, many Americans who watched their fortunes rise and fall with the stock market bubble of the late 90�s are dismayed… Read More

  • Is Real Estate the Next Bubble?

    Investors who rode the performance wave of technology stocks in the late 90�s only to see the bubble burst in March of 2000 are probably wondering whether or not real estate is the next bubble. Real estate has not quite… Read More

  • The High Cost of Mutual Funds

    According to Morningstar, the mutual fund monitoring service, the average mutual fund in its 14,592 fund database still charges the following extremely high expenses: Investment management expenses ——–1.39% per year Front-end commissions paid to brokers—1.14% Deferred commissions paid to brokers—-1.00%… Read More

  • Refinance: Is now the time?

    How do you decide if refinancing your home mortgage makes sense? Factors to consider are your tax bracket, the length of time you plan to stay in your home, refinancing costs and, believe it or not, your current outstanding mortgage… Read More

  • Buying High & Selling Low? That’s What Investors Seem To Do

    Many independent investment professionals and academicians have observed that mutual fund investors consistently buy when markets are at their peak and sell when markets are at their bottoms. We can see that observation is true by watching the net flow… Read More

  • Municipal Bond Investors Flee Stocks and Find Bigger Perils The Perils of The Municipal Bond Market

    Phoenix, Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — Five years ago, Don Burns and his wife, Gerry, sank $160,000 of retirement money into municipal bonds sold to build the Oaks at Medina nursing home in Medina, Ohio. Three years later, the home defaulted,… Read More

  • Stepping from Behind the Shield

    Over these past two and a half years, we have gotten a good taste of the psychological difficulties of investing. Market uptrends have consistently followed periods of downtrends, again and again. For example, in the four-month period between May 21,… Read More

  • Important!! Changes in Your Retirement Savings and Investment Options

    For years, the government and private industry have been trying to hand off responsibility to individuals for their own retirement planning. The shift that was enacted from defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution plans (401(k), 403(b), etc.) was a… Read More

  • What to Watch in 2002 Trends in How We Acquire Goods

    One of the most important steps in successful investing is distinguishing meaningful trends from overpriced hype, fads, and �noise� in the marketplace. In this newsletter, we note that one of the more significant changes going on is how goods are… Read More