Some mutual funds inflict great damage on your 1040. Defend yourself. By William Baldwin, Senior Contributor Winter: the season in which fund owners incur self-inflicted wounds. Investors who make the mistake of holding stock mutual funds in taxable accounts are at risk of having unwanted distributions dumped in their laps.…

Dow Jones Industrials are in rally mode with a straight up look since the lows of late October, but there’s no “new high” like the Nasdaq 100. Among the 30 large capitalization stocks that make up the Dow, there are 4 names that have been a real drag on the…

People are naturally curious as to how they compare to others, and wondering how you compare to someone else financially is no different. While understanding where you fall within the national average when it comes to your net worth is useful information, keep in mind that it has no bearing…

Thanksgiving is an appropriate time to be thankful for the rich bounty that stocks have given us this year, but it is also a crucial time to consider the “turkey problem” as it relates to investing. Nassim Taleb introduced the world to the “Black Swan” and used this tale to…

The exchange traded fund known as the Communications Select Sector SPDR just hit new highs. Its top holdings include Meta Platforms FB (formerly Facebook), Alphabet (former Google GOOG ) and Disney (it’s still Disney). Investors looking for professional management and added diversification might look at the ETF. The Communications Select…

Following on the heels of a softer jobs report, the friendly consumer inflation (CPI) readings last week boosted asset prices. Falling yields and growing expectations of a possible economic soft landing fueled the rally. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield fell from 5.06% to 4.89%, while the 10-year declined from 4.65%…

Determining when to take your Social Security may be one of the most impactful decisions you choose when it comes to your retirement. There are several factors that you should consider when determining the best time to take your own Social Security and one strategy you may want to implement…

Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/A, BRK/B) third-quarter 2023 13F was filed on November 14. This filing gives us a quarterly opportunity to observe what two of the greatest investors, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, and their team are doing within Berkshire’s publicly traded equity portfolio. Berkshire has a large stable of wholly-owned…

Over the weekend, Moody’s Investors Service, one of the three main credit rating agencies, signaled the US Sovereign Credit Rating could be subject to a future downgrade by changing the assigned Outlook from Neutral to Negative. The move follows a downgrade from Fitch Ratings on August 3, 2023. For background,…

Patagonia, the multibillion dollar clothing retailer, has recently published “The Future of the Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned from Patagonia’s First 50 Years,” a book written by Vincent Stanley, the company’s Director of Philosophy, and its Founder, Yvon Chouinard. This insightful read delves into Patagonia’s innovative ownership structure that garnered…