I recently finished reading "Wealth, War and Wisdom" by Barton Biggs (Amazon link: here). This book looks at how various stock markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and others) reacted to the events surrounding World War Two. This book is a must read for any stock market nerd - a perfect blend of general history …
Tag: investing
The Only Winning Move
Have you ever seen the movie War Games (1983)? The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follows David Lightman (Broderick), a young hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union*. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert!), the supercomputer realizes that the many different scenarios (games) involving …
529 Plans: How Much Should I Contribute?
I frequently get asked about college 529 savings plans. The question I usually get asked is: how much should I put into my kid's 529 Plan each month? The question clients should be asking is: SHOULD I contribute to my kid's 529 plan each month? Let's start with the basics*. 529 plans are sponsored by …
The Power of Compounding
I recently took the family down to Naples, Florida for some vacation time. On one afternoon we took the kids on a boat cruise around the harbor with the goal of seeing some dolphins (which we saw!). After explaining some of the history around the harbor, the tour guide quickly moved the conversation to real …
Investing Trends – Commodities
If you follow the financial markets, you have most likely seen the "I" word recently - inflation. Although benign since 2008, inflation is on the "risk radar" of many asset managers heading into 2018. Some asset managers believe that higher inflation may cause the FED to raise rates faster than expected, which should cause bond …
The Naperville Financial Planner 