This journey started small but 48 posts later and I can say I wrote down my thoughts, observations, and research. For over 90% of the weeks, I put meaningful time and research into 2018's blog posts. My work and research have taken me to Boston to learn and work on promoting programs like Quizzify; there I met the generous and wise Al Lewis. I've worked with companies on helping to make reports better, found truth behind the data, validated ROI calculations, revealed truths hidden in public comp ...
Weighing Machines
Without Benjamin Graham we may not know the name Warren Buffett. Graham was an investor, professor, and practical philosopher. He wrote the masterpiece Security Analysis during the midst of the Great Depression, as well as The Intelligent Investor, and was a professor, mentor, and employer to Buffett. Graham wrote that the markets in the short term are like popularity contests. The short-term prices move around more than the true underlying value of an asset. In the long term there is more paus ...
Stats on High Deductibles
November has past and healthcare open enrollment is behind us. It's the time when spreadsheets are pulled together, employees and spouses (even actuaries) run front and back of the envelope calculations to decide where to enroll. Stock photos of happy couples in the 30-page guides beckon workers toward a tortuous process. It's usually a choice of 2 or 3 medical plans. In many cases, it's supposed to be kind of a pain, since one way for companies to lower benefit costs is to nudge, gently dissuad ...
On Hidden Risks and Volatility
Volatility in investing can be a great thing. The attraction to Bernie Madoff's scam can be better understood by its lack of volatility. His funds showed annual returns of an eerily consistent 10-12% and at one point reported 72 consecutive months of positive returns. His strategy used a split-strike or collar options strategy (not related to baseball or haberdashery), whereby you buy stock, sell a call option, and use the proceeds to buy a put option. It can work, but is not without risk and ha ...