The investment world has been all a twitter lately, both literally and figuratively. Since Bill Gross announced he was leaving Pacific Investment Management Fund Co. (PIMCO), the company he co-founded more than forty years ago, and moving to Janus Capital, investors have been uncertain what to do.   The investors and advisors have been wringing their hands and anguishing about whether or not to stay with the PIMCO Total Return Fund managed by Mr. Gross, or mov…

Have you seen the PBS program where Scott “The Piano Guy” Houston teaches adults who have always dreamed of playing the piano to learn to play using a simple, easy method?  Whenever the Learn Piano in Flash program airs (usually during pledge week), I stop what I’m doing and watch. Unlike my wife and kids who all play musical instruments, I have no musical talent. Frankly, I don’t have a strong desire to learn to play the piano, but I’m fascinated in how Scot…

Our family dog, Brittney, is very affectionate and has a sweet disposition most of the time.  However, when provoked she can get aggressive.  As with all dogs, you have to be careful around her when she might be protective of her food, yard or one of the family members.  As a comparison, I hope my clients will exercise similar caution when dealing with Fidelity Investments. Also known as Fido, Fidelity is an excellent discount broker and custodian f…

As June rolls around each year, the time comes again for the annual graduation speeches.  Though most will be quickly forgotten (and probably should be), some do provide valuable inspiration and insight.   Thanks to YouTube, I stumbled upon a speech that struck me as particularly meaningful. In a baccalaureate address given by author Michael Lewis (Liar’s Poker, Blind Side, Moneyball) to the Princeton graduating class of 2012, Lewis made a succi…

When it comes to investing in commodities, I don’t recommend them to my clients for one simple reason: I don’t understand them well enough. The first rule of investing is to never invest in something you don’t understand. Don’t get me wrong, I know what commodities are and I’ve done enough research to form an opinion. I just don’t understand enough to know specifically what to expect from commodities in the future or to have any confidence that the asset class wil…