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Recent Articles from Ron Phillips
A study in investment contrasts
Friday, September 19, 2014. This day recently had two historic events. Scotland voted to stay together, keeping their 307-year-old union. And China, with the U.S. as midwife, floated the largest IPO in history. Why is this important?
How to find values in a bull market
The consensus is that the U.S. market is over-valued and ready for a drop. I agree with half of that. The market is fairly valued and even under-valued when you consider forward earnings into 2015 and beyond.
Four more great ways to minimize risk
Risk is especially abundant in the investing world. Thankfully, there’s usually a way to hedge, or protect, against these dangers.
Navigating investing's four quadrants
Bull markets are full of temptation. The first thing most people think of is to get rid of their advisor: “Why should I pay this chump 1% of my assets when I can just invest in an affordable index fund?”
Is China headed for a knockout?
Long-term, I am definitely a China “bull.” It’s currently behind only the U.S. in size of economy; it’s the biggest market for many consumer items like cars and the biggest importer and exporter of many other goods and commodities. In short, China is a powerhouse that should keep growing into the...
Four great ways to minimize risk
A big part of what I do as a financial advisor, is managing and minimizing risk for clients. When the market is going gangbusters, like 1998 and recently, everyone can do well in stocks. Financial pro or not. That’s only one part of investing. The critical part is NOT LOSING as much money as the m...
How to avoid four investment ogres
A long time ago, far, far away, lived a charming prince. This prince could do no wrong. He was awarded many tributes and much princely treasure. Many townsfolk believed and depended on his charm. One day his spell wore off and revealed, as if by magic: off-balance-sheet debt, false profits and rev...
Are we headed for a crash?
It’s important to keep an open mind to different opinions. I read and listen to some of the craziest stuff out there about the markets and the economy. The latest buzz is about a chart published by newsletter writer Tom McClellan. He thinks we’ll have a 1929-like crash. Why does he think that? His...
How to survive a bear market
Related to market valuation is whether the market is overbought or, in other words, too popular. If there’s a lot of cash flowing to an area, it can become too pricey. The S&P 500 is up 19.25 percent over the last five years. Is there too much cash leaving low-yielding bank accounts, chasing the s...
The hidden asset class
Cash is an important part of a portfolio. If you have a long-term horizon, you might want 0-5 percent of your investments in cash. Ideally, you have high-income investments that are providing a steady flow of cash, acting as ballast for your portfolio. Depending on the economy, the markets and you...
Six ways to create investment income
What did we all learn during this past decade? The one that gave most stock investors negative returns? What I learned was to generate income. Instead of buying, holding and […]
Who’s afraid of health care?
We’ve just experienced the 18th U.S. government shutdown. The stock market reacted by whipsawing up and down hundreds of points. Yet the S&P 500 just had another record close. So it looks like the health care-induced shutdown wasn’t all bad for investors. What about past shutdowns? Did they help o...
