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Seminar completed! Available for talks at your group! Update April 11, 2016
Hello Money Matters fans and investor enthusiasts. We had a great seminar at the NC Winery last week with a great turn out!
If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry, we are scheduling another one so stay tuned to Money Matters newsletters and get on our mailing list by subscribing to our website Moneymanagementradio.com. If you would like me to speak at your meeting or organization or know of an organization that might like me to give a talk, let me know! There is no cost or obligation to have me do so and talks range from half an hour for up to 3 hours if need be.
Looking forward to seeing all of you soon!
Marc
PS: I set aside the next 3 weeks to meet with you or anyone who might want a no cost evaluation of their portfolio. Email me at mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com to make a appointment!
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Travel log:
I once went to Hawaii with another couple and the woman of this other couple was a loon (to put it mildly). I made the mistake of letting her drive. With me trying to talk some sense into her as she drove 100 mph with me in the back seat of a convertible mustang, she said "you have to face your fears". I thought... humm.... I fear getting hit by a train but that does not mean I plan to stand on an active train track at some point.
Anyway I survived and she drove me to drink heavily that evening (although I never called her to thank her) but that statement stuck with me. So here I am on my Southern States US trip for business and pleasure after hiking up a few thousand feet on what was deemed a "strenuous" hike to the "vortex" by Sedona Arizona (the Carmel of Arizona). Keep in mind I am scared of heights. In back of me is a steep drop and the winds in there swirl and howl and its supposed to be some sort of magical experience. If you call me s******g a brick magical, well ok then, but I gathered my wits and "faced my fears" (thank you crazy woman) and although I look calm and sedated, I was anything but. (Son in background left but do not let the picture fool you, it was mega hairy). So I scrambled up the steep cliffs (having lossed 22 pounds by way of the adultery diet and no its not what it sounds) and when I arrived here I nailed my foot to the rock by way of an aluminum peton and yelled to my oldest boy to "Take the f....g picture before I pass out!" He said "look happy dad" and I retorted "Take the picture or you will never walk again!".
So here it is. Note my feet are not in the picture on purpose so you cannot see the head of the peton sticking out of my right boot.
After several wraps of bandages and three yanks to remove said peton from my expensive Ridgeline boots, I then went to go down and drink heavily when my two boys said "how about a picture of the 3 of us Dad?" Having extricated the aluminum spike I now had no way of securing myself to the rock ledge and now had to once again traverse the cliffs to arrive again at the "vortex" but now had to wait for my 2 boys to arrive and then convince someone to snap another photo. You will note how Dad is holding onto the middle boy with both hands to insure if I goes, he goes. Sort of like "kill the tortise when I die because I can't stand to have that thing live longer then me".
Anyway it reminded me of a hotel I stayed in Mexico on the 26th floor and saw a Mexican guy on a board suspended by manila rope washing the outside of my window hundreds of feet up. He had no harness but a large piece of rope around his waist. Never mind the fact if he fell he would snap in 2 as he had no harness, just this rope, but as I leaned a bit more over to see more I noticed he was not tied to the board nor the suspending rope but to another guy. I kid you not. Talk about bonding!
I never did see either of them the next day but the board was still there so I have no idea what happened. Well anyway, as you can see I am holding on for dear life but we got the photo and I survived the trip down (going DOWN a mountain is WAY WORSE then going up) despite a peton sized hole in my foot and boot and those damn bandages dragging the whole way as to make me look like some kind of mummy had crawled out of some ancient cave somewhere farther up the mountain and was looking for a meal. Notice again toe of right boot is not in photo. I photo-shopped the blood, sinew, bandages and the like out of the photo for deceny. Its not a smile, its a grimace~
Markets:
Solid recovery in indices in the last few weeks for sure. Markets appear to be under little stress at this time but that can change as we all know! With the elections in plain sight, most of America is focused on the candidates. A Federal Reserve meeting yield a “Stand pat” stance on interest rates citing concerns about markets in general and employment data. (Federal Reserve Minutes). Oil prices saw their biggest increase in 2 months and a lack of any negative market moving news seems to have placated investors at this particular time.
The Dow remains in the 17,000 range, off their recent lows and volatility has ebbed. We carefully watch the markets for any signs of imminent moves and continue to diversify portfolios with both “risk on” and “risk off” type holdings and strategies as well as implementing stop loss points and trailing stops to adhere to proper risk management and retain positive attributes in all portfolios. With summer coming and the fall elections, there are indeed possible catalysts which must be considered as we transverse along 2016. Stay tuned to Money Matters, our show and our newsletter to keep abreast of take on the markets and our portfolios.
Watching the markets so you don’t have to,
Marc
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Risk on- Risk off Investing
Market risk is a name used in investment planning to describe the possibility of stocks going down not from individual company news but because the overall market goes down. Since most stocks move in concert with each other at times of extreme volatility, both up and down, market risk is thought to be an unavoidable risk if one own stocks.
These inherent risks in markets run the gamut from political risks (government or political events affecting markets) to black swan events (unforeseen occurrences such as 9/11) and many more.
The main point with inherent or unavoidable risks is there is little one can do to prepare for one.
Not all stocks however move in the exact direction of the overall market and some have a tendency to move in the opposite direction. To illustrate this, one only has to look at certain sectors of stocks during market routs and see if they indeed moved in the same direction, moved in the opposite direction or didn’t move at all.
When a “risk-on” environment is upon us investors perceive the investing waters are safe and buy stocks. This is typically when the economic environment is perceived as normal and healthy and investor concerns about the world around them are placid and calm. A “risk-off” environment is when investors are nervous about what it happening around them. During risk-off periods, investors tend to flee most stock sectors and buy assets considered “defensive” or perceived as safer than the general stock market. These areas might include bonds or preferred stocks (typically called fixed income investments) utility sectors, foodstuff and staple sectors, government investments such as T-Bills, Treasuries or other government issued debt, Ginnie Mae funds (government mortgage backed securities) and other particular investments thought to be more stable in times of market duress. Ture to form many of these sectors rose during the January 2016 sell off.
Although there are other investments that actually are designed to rise in market sell offs, these types of investments (known as short or bear funds) can be a risk type of investment as they may also fall in value if markets rise.
A diversified portfolio may hold both risk-on and risk-off types of investments in order to participate in rising markets yet offer some degree of safety in falling markets. A dynamic strategy which attempts to move in and out of assets depending on market conditions is also possible but timing is the key here. Many an investor has tried to time market movements only to be burned when markets moved in the opposite direction expected.
To insure your portfolio is diversified, you might research what sectors and assets tended to rise during market upsets and which sectors just mirrored the markets. Although past performance is never a guarantee as to future movements, certain actions and reactions in markets tend to repeat themselves when observed over a larger time period and history can at least be a guide as to where to look for risk-on/risk-off areas to park your money.
Of course, always consult with a qualified investment professional when considering any investment and do your own research before investing. Since there are always degrees of good, better and best in all areas of human expertise, realize there are always strategies which may help smooth out market movements if one knows where to look.
