Two investment tenets have been upended in recent years: one that value stocks, considered cheap by traditional metrics outperform growth stocks, the other that small companies outperform large ones. Over the last decade, the opposite has been true. Growth stocks have dramatically outdistanced value stocks and large caps have significantly outperformed small company ones. If you happen to be a value-oriented, small-cap investor it’s been a tough combination which is why contrarian minded observe...
Sep 28, 2019•25 min•Season 16Ep. 13
Financial risks are adding up. Trade battles with China, the surprising vulnerability of Middle East oil supplies, the duration of Hong Kong protests, the drawn-out Brexit dilemma are all drags on business confidence and economic growth. In recognition, the Federal Reserve just cut interest rates for the second time this summer and remains on alert. Another largely unrecognized concern? In August, for the first time in history, assets in passive equity funds based in the U.S. surpassed holdings ...
Sep 20, 2019•25 min•Season 16Ep. 12
One dominant market observation of the last decade has been that we have been experiencing the least believed bull market in history. As of August of 2018 the market’s advance, in large-cap stocks at least, had indeed become the longest bull market in history. But the experience of investors has been anything but a straight shot. If you look at indexes outside the largest U.S. company stocks it has been a much more perilous ride with several major corrections along the way. The Russell 2000, whi...
Sep 13, 2019•25 min•Season 16Ep. 11
Volatile U.S trade relations with China are immediately reflected in the financial markets but what about the economic impact? Could they push the U.S. into recession? Leading global economist and strategist Nick Sargen weighs in. SARGEN: "Number one is don't add to risk. That's the simple message. Number two is, is it a good time to d begin to do some reduction of risk in the portfolio? And I think the warning signs are Yes." SARGEN: "What I'm concerned with today is that I think there is no so...
Aug 26, 2019•26 min•Season 16Ep. 9
China expert Jim McGregor gives us his candid assessment of the competitive threat that China’s leadership poses to the U.S. It’s a fascinating conversation and a wakeup call for the U.S. It’s currently summer pledge season on Public Television, so WEALTHTRACK might not be airing on your local channel. Consequently, we are revisiting some recent interviews with some of our most popular Great Investor guests. We are revisiting an exclusive with value investor and financial thought leader Joel Gre...
Aug 25, 2019•27 min•Season 16Ep. 8
Additional discussion about how Social Security rules are changing. As benefits guru, Mary Beth Franklin told us on a recent WEALTHTRACK , there are nearly 3,000 rules governing this benefit and there are specific advantages for different situations. This week we look at three: Divorce, Retiring Single, and Medicare. WEALTHTRACK #1607 published on August, 16. 2019. https://wealthtrack.com/retirement-benefits/ It’s the start of the summer fund-raising season on Public Television, we'll be back wi...
Aug 17, 2019•8 min•Season 16Ep. 7
Paying attention to Social Security benefits pays off and needs to be taken seriously from an earlier age than most people realize. Many of us underestimate how important this benefit is. - It is the single largest source of income for the majority of Americans age 65 and older. - It accounts for half or more of total income for 53% of married couples and 74% of unmarried individuals. - It is one of the only sources of guaranteed income that retirees can count on for the rest of their lives. - I...
Aug 09, 2019•25 min•Season 16Ep. 6
Who is carrying on the traditions of today’s great investors? When you are investing in a fund with an impressive track record and distinctive philosophy and approach is there any guarantee that those qualities will continue with the next generation? We recently launched a new series on “Next Generation Investors” on WEALTHTRACK to introduce the younger portfolio managers sharing management responsibilities with some legendary investors. This week we have another exclusive with Miller with the C...
Aug 02, 2019•26 min•Season 16Ep. 5
We have launched a new series on WEALTHTRACK, Next Generation Investors, to introduce ourselves and you to the younger portfolio managers working alongside today’s investment greats. As part of that series, we are doing one on one podcasts with the less well known, but deserving partners. Our guest this week is Samantha McLemore, Portfolio Manager at Miller Value Partners who has been working with legendary investor Bill Miller since graduating from college in 2002. WEALTHTRACK #1604 published o...
Jul 26, 2019•25 min•Season 16Ep. 4
Influential investment advisor and author Bill Bernstein shares key insights with Morningstar’s “The Long View” podcast which they are sharing with us on WEALTHTRACK this week. Listen here: https://wealthtrack.com/if-youve-won-the-game-stop-playing/ During this summer public television fundraising week we are revisiting a recent program about the greatest retirement fear – running out of money. Advice from Morningstar ’s Christine Benz and Wells Fargo’s Fredrik Axsater on how to avoid it. https:...
Jul 20, 2019•1 min•Season 16Ep. 3
Seismic shifts in the municipal bond markets and the portfolios of award-winning muni manager Robert DiMella. The nearly $4 trillion dollar municipal bond market is attracting record amounts of investor money. Year-to-date more than $40 billion has poured into municipal bond funds, one of the highest inflows on record. One key factor for muni’s attractiveness is the higher taxes being paid by many individual taxpayers following the tax reform bill, which was passed in 2017 but took effect in 201...
Jul 12, 2019•26 min•Season 16Ep. 2
Consuelo Mack WEALTHTRACK launches a new season with its “Next Generation Investors” series featuring an exclusive interview with legendary value investor Bill Miller, and Samantha McLemore, his Co-Portfolio Manager on the Miller Opportunity Trust fund. We want you to meet the individuals that some top fund managers have chosen to manage money with them, for them and possibly succeed them. The investment horizon, even for people in retirement can stretch into decades. Plus, in this era of passiv...
Jul 05, 2019•25 min•Season 16Ep. 1
Better financial advice for women with Yie-Hsin Hung, one of the most powerful women in finance. The economic might of women is large and growing. According to research put together by New York Life Investment Management, 51% of the personal wealth in the U.S. is controlled by women - an estimated $22 trillion worth. That number is expected to jump by 30% percent to nearly $29 trillion over the next 40 years as intergenerational wealth is handed over. Women are the key financial decision makers:...
Jun 29, 2019•25 min•Season 15Ep. 54
Berkshire Hathaway stock has underperformed the S&P 500 for the past decade. By a recent calculation Berkshire’s stock has risen by nearly 260% versus the market’s more than 300% advance in the decade ended in 2018. Despite Berkshire’s stunning record since 1965, 21% compounded annualized gains, this is not the first time that the company’s shares have underperformed the market for a decade. It’s happened several times in recent years. This weeks guest: "The advice is stay put, and then you’...
Jun 21, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 53
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint” describes the investment time horizon of Tweedy, Browne’s senior portfolio managers William Browne and John Spears. Wall Street is haunted by the ghosts of brokerage firms past. Names such as Dean Witter, Kidder Peabody, PaineWebber, and Smith Barney were thriving independents. No more! Even the Merrill Lynch name is being gradually erased by parent company Bank of America. There is one old-line firm still standing however with an impeccable investment pedigree th...
Jun 15, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 52
As it’s currently fundraising season on public television WEALTHTRACK might not be airing on your local station, so we are revisiting a recent interview on the topic of impact investing. NEW THIS WEEK: In this week's extra feature we’ll share a link to a report about how you apply socially responsible investing principles to your portfolio from the forum for sustainable and responsible investment. It is a roadmap for professional investors which is also useful for individuals and anyone managing...
Jun 07, 2019•1 min•Season 15Ep. 51
It’s the first week of the spring fund raising season on Public Television we are revisiting a recent exclusive interview with Fund Manager of Year winner David Giroux on the growing secular risks in companies. NEW THIS WEEK: A large group of T. Rowe Price’s portfolio managers and analysts recently returned from the firm’s annual trip to Silicon Valley where they pick the brains of top executives of leading tech-oriented companies. The firm is sharing its findings with us in their recently publi...
Jun 01, 2019•1 min•Season 15Ep. 50
International investing star Mark Yockey joins us in a WealthTrack Exclusive to discuss his global stock picks. With episodic exceptions the U.S. has been the place to invest since the global financial crisis. There have been occasional bouts of outperformance by European and emerging markets, specific geographical locals and individual countries but overall, the U.S. markets trajectory has been higher, the U.S. economy stronger and the dollar dominant. The past year is a case in point. No matte...
May 24, 2019•25 min•Season 15Ep. 49
Our focus this week: The challenge facing most of us! Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist Richard Thaler recently called the drawing down of money in retirement “way harder” than the saving phase because of the uncertainty of how long we will live. He is proposing adding 401(k) funds to social security to increase monthly payouts. This week’s guest, Mark Cortazzo, wholeheartedly agrees with Thaler about the difficulty of the spend-down phase and says another largely unrecognized danger is p...
May 17, 2019•25 min•Season 15Ep. 48
Market volatility is back. The roller coaster trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are lurching downward again causing a multi-day market sell-off rivaling declines in December of last year. The much bigger question is how stable is the world financial system? A decade ago in the midst of the global financial crisis, it appeared to be on the brink of destruction. Massive and unprecedented monetary stimulus by central banks and fiscal stimulus by governments stabilized financial markets ...
May 10, 2019•25 min•Season 15Ep. 47
Short term interests remain steady. The Federal Reserve decided to keep its benchmark federal funds rate at the same 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 percent range it had since January when it put its previous series of rate hikes on hold. Two percent is of course the Fed’s target rate for inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the Fed’s view of price weakness as “ transient ” but said if it continued it would be “ something we would be concerned about.” As far as the stock market is concerned growth is bac...
May 03, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 46
This summer will mark the longest economic recovery in U.S. history. The bull market already made it into the record books for longevity in August of 2018. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ reached new record highs just this Tuesday. Rather than a cause for celebration many economists, business leaders, consumers and investors have viewed these unparalleled achievements as cause for concern. Their thinking: this must mean the end is near. This week’s guest is not in the end is near camp. Anything b...
Apr 27, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 45
Remember the expression, “Follow the money” from the Deep Throat character in ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN? We are following the money for you. We also want to, “Show you the money,” Tom Cruise’s mantra in JERRY MAGUIRE. We can do both with one investment approach. Socially responsible investing, also known as ESG (for Environmental, Social and Governance), sustainable or impact investing. It is attracting massive amounts of investor dollars - follow the money - and is performing as well if not bette...
Apr 19, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 44
Patience is usually considered to be a virtue except when it comes to investing. Investors are notoriously impatient when the funds they are in underperform the market for a few years. The magic number seems to be three. There was an influential study of institutional investors done over a decade ago showing how poor their hiring and firing decisions were. Institutional investors typically fired a manager after three years of subpar performance and hired a manager after three years of exceptiona...
Apr 12, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 43
Great value investor Joel Greenblatt reveals his two secrets to investment success. He is living proof that active management can still work really well. Greenblatt is Managing Principal and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Gotham Asset Management where he co-manages hedge funds and several hedge fund-like mutual funds utilizing long/short strategies. His behavioral insight that the best investment strategy is one that both makes sense and that you can stick with. The proposition that active manag...
Apr 05, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 42
Yields on government bonds are falling across the globe. The yields on the benchmark 10-year bond in both Germany and Japan are negative for the first time in a couple of years. The European Central Bank, already announced it would hold its short-term rates below zero at least through December. Here in the U.S., where economic growth is stronger, the Fed reconfirmed that it is on hold. The futures markets, however, are betting on a change in policy toward more easing. The Federal-Funds futures w...
Mar 29, 2019•25 min•Season 15Ep. 41
Former PIMCO strategist, portfolio manager, and Chief Economist Paul McCulley warned about the credit bubble years before it burst. What is he watching now? WEALTHTRACK #1540 broadcast on March 22, 2019. More info at WEALTHTRACK
Mar 22, 2019•26 min•Season 15Ep. 40
Helping women become financially secure is a primary motivation for Karen Altfest. Altfest Personal Wealth Management’s Principal Advisor shares her women-centric approach. WEALTHTRACK #1539 published on March 15, 2019. More WEALTHTRACK WOMEN
Mar 15, 2019•18 min•Season 15Ep. 39
The retirement crisis is real. 40% of older, middle-class workers and their spouses will fall into poverty or near poverty in retirement. Economist and retirement expert Teresa Ghilarducci says the U.S.’ 40-year experiment with do-it-yourself retirement is seriously flawed, but there are ways to fix it. More info at WEALTHTRACK WEALTHTRACK WOMEN is featuring women who are making a difference in business and finance during Women’s History Month. Join us for career advice from three successful wom...
Mar 08, 2019•30 min•Season 15Ep. 38
WEALTHTRACK WOMEN is featuring women who are making a difference in business and finance during Women’s History Month. Join us for career advice from three successful women entrepreneurs including S’well’s Sarah Kauss. Pension expert Teresa Ghilarducci provides timely retirement solutions. Award-winning wealth advisor Karen Altfest explains her women-centric approach. More WEALTHTRACK WOMEN here: www.wealthtrack.com/women While your local public television station holds its fundraising drives on...
Mar 01, 2019•51 min•Season 15Ep. 37
