While You Were Busy Sleeping, Vanguard Wasn’t…
But, at what point do we see a big bank or brokerage firm (where TRILLIONS of dollars and MILLIONS of accounts are NOW) decide, “Hey, maybe we should offer a robo-advising service too?” Within a year...
View ArticleMutual of Omaha Presents: Wild Kingdom… on Wall Street
Maybe I’m dating myself with the Mutual of Omaha reference, but four years ago, almost to the day, I began working on a series about the types of people you’ll likely run into within the walls of your...
View ArticleWe Interrupt This Program To Bring You… RoboWars
This would’ve been the post that was part two in my “Roboadvisor Guide” series, but then Adam Nash, CEO of Wealthfront, wrote a blog post about the ills of their latest competitor, Charles Schwab’s new...
View ArticlePart 2: The Bionic Advisor Toolkit
(Disclosure: I’m not receiving any remuneration to be talking about any of these firms; I share because I care. Your results may vary.) So the last time I wrote on this subject I mentioned the issues...
View ArticleChange
Life repeats itself mindlessly — unless you become mindful, it will go on repeating like a wheel. That’s why Buddhists call it the wheel of life and death — the wheel of time. It moves like a wheel:...
View ArticleThe Clock: “Where do you think we are right now?”
“Nobody rings a bell at the top, or bottom” A long time ago, in a galaxy far away from my old Morgan Stanley days, I met one of the biggest influences on my advisory practice today. He gave me almost...
View ArticleLet’s talk about Risk, Roboadvisors.
If you’re a reader of the blog, you might think I am biased to think roboadvisors are generally a bad idea because I’m an adviser when I’m not slapping my hands on the keyboard. And maybe you’re right,...
View ArticleActually, Do Begin With The End In Mind…
Michael Batnick wrote a fantastic piece on cognitive bias and how ‘beginning with the end in mind’ is a mistake when starting a stock position — to never begin with the end in mind. It’s hard to argue...
View ArticleThe State Of The End Of The Millenium Address
Los Angeles, 1980 — The air is so polluted that you can see it, smell it, and taste it. People are getting tired of the shallow, vapid Hollywood Dream. The 70’s counterculture punk rock scene is...
View ArticleMaybe You’re Asking The Wrong Questions…
For the better part of the last twenty years, I’ve not only been giving advice but thinking about advice and the business of giving advice. Like any profession, the advice dispensed can be good or bad....
View ArticleYou Are So Money.
When you first meet someone, there’s usually a lot of questions on the road toward establishing their awesomeness. There’s the usual… What do you do? Where are you from? What’s your favorite position —...
View ArticleSo You’re Getting A Divorce…
I am not an expert on how to navigate a “successful” divorce, but five years later I am here to report that I am happier and healthier than I’ve ever been — and our kids are too. To that end, I can...
View ArticleSpotify Saturday: Stay Up
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato // I hope you enjoy this week’s ear candy.
View ArticleThe Asset Of Gratitude
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” -Cicero The more I learn about sustaining happiness in my own life, the more I’m convinced Cicero is right. Here’s the...
View ArticleFridays
Originally published June 24, 2011 It’s 6:30am. Today is the day. Your broker is moving to a new firm. Maybe they told you. Probably not. The contracts are signed. Post dated, of course. The...
View ArticleLies, Damned Lies, And Heuristics
Ladies and Gentlemen, You are financing the greatest heist in American history. Of epic proportions. Currently, $8.6 trillion dollars is sitting in the top 5 US banks. Let me remind you – these banks...
View ArticleThe Heart: Lunch With Jim O’Shaugnessy
When I first started writing here on I heart Wall Street, it was simply out of frustration. The title came to me serendipitously while talking with Meb Faber about the ills of Wall Street, the...
View ArticleSummer Daze
It was a hot, humid east coast summer day. We were the kids of 1984. Back then the parents in our neighborhood had the same summertime rule. Do not enter the house, except for lunch and dinner unless...
View ArticleInvesting In Yourself: Input/Output
In investing (and life), pretty much every decision you make has a nuanced outcome. That is to say, there is very little black or white when it comes to what resides on the other side of each of your...
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