Investing

Earnings may be a consideration when investing in the stock market, but whether you make money or not depends on the extent of monetary inflation. The rate of inflation has been twice that of the gains seen in the Dow Jones since 1920 but currently, while Wall Street may be seeing a “bull market”, the inflation adjusted returns investors receive from rising share prices aren’t compensating them for the decline in purchasing power the dollars their profits are denominated in. [Let me explain further.]

Is it time to sell all of your stocks because we’ve seen huge gains over the past five years? Not necessarily. It all depends on your time horizon and what kind of investor you are. Let me explain.

We are not as smart, or as unbiased, as we think. Outside influences can greatly - and adversely - affect our decision making. Here are two ways in which “doing less” can probably "make us more" in our investing lives.

Asset allocation is the most essential factor in building a high performing portfolio. Paying attention to the risk of each asset class allows you to create a portfolio that can beat the market in good times as well as bad.

Events and conditions do not make investors behave in any particular way that can be identified as shown in this analysis of the supposed relationship between interest rates and stock prices. So much for the popular claim that "Interest rates drive stock prices"!

The speculative fervor in China's equity markets is spreading. The Shanghai Composite has cleared the 5000 mark after hovering just above 2000 around six months ago. This rally has been nothing short of spectacular. HERE are some key trends that point to just how heated the market has become.

With the market richly priced, forward returns just don’t look good enough. Worth the risk? I think it’s better to have a game plan in place that enables you to capitalize on the next major market correction – which in my opinion could be in the -40% to -60% range.

There’s no better time than now to start saving for the future. Retirement is becoming longer and more expensive with many costs likely to come out of your own pocket. Here are 4 investment strategies to get you on the right path and give yourself an edge toward meeting your retirement goals.

Stock markets around the world have been on an extended bull run for a long time now and 2 new charts, from Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, show that shares are in too-good-to-be-true territory and that, if history is anything to go by, they're due for a sharp correction.

An annualized average of 56% of all actively managed domestic equity funds, 59% of active U.S. large-cap equity funds, and 64% of active mid-cap equity funds underperformed broad-market indexes. [Index funds anyone? Let's review.] Words: 895