Because your employer selects the investments to place within your 401(k), many employees must choose from a limited number of funds. If you are in that situation, you can request that your company offer more investment options. On the other hand, some employer 401(k)s give you no selection whatsoever; in that case, your money is pooled into one account and man-aged by one firm, and you have no say. Such plans do not (more…)
At the end of 1999 I visited an investment club as a guest speaker. After explaining asset allocation, I had a feeling that they had missed what I was saying, because most of them were falling asleep when I spoke about buying stocks that were out of favor. Because the members seemed very pleased with the way their portfolio had grown quickly, I sensed that it was loaded with large-growth stocks. Certainly these people did not need to (more…)
Studies have shown that there is no perfect correlation between two different asset classes. Stocks of large companies do not move in lockstep with stocks of small companies. Bonds do not move at the same time as stocks. Therefore a portfolio with one asset class will not behave the same as a port-folio with two or three asset classes. In Figure 4.1 we see real returns on stocks, bonds, and treasury bills for the year 2000. Note that (more…)
How is it possible that the advisor and the client we discussed earlier could have been made to feel comfortable in choosing a payout of 8.5 percent or even 6 percent? Is it possible that we can be fooled, too? Sure, because our experiences of the recent past can substantially influence our judgments and create a bias that is too optimistic. Following this thought further, I wondered whether the average annual return for the ten-year period just prior to 1968 could have influenced an advisor’s projections (more…)
Some companies know that China is an option for their business, but the owners don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to figure out how to make China work for the company. They don’t know where to start. They don’t have a roadmap to help them find their way. It seems all too foreign for the owners. And it seems way too hard. If your company leadership has this type of attitude, don’t attempt to do business in China.
You need to have strong leadership that’s committed to making your China business a success in the long-term. Without your company leadership’s full commitment, the chances of failure increase drastically.
In the era of the do-it-yourself and self-management, security selection is not as simple as going to Home Depot to pick out garden plants. One needs to be objective (disinterested, even) about money in order to manage it best. Many times the investor must go out on a limb to pick the fruit, and unless a person is well trained and (more…)
Explain how your strategy follows from the assessment of the market. It should identify your target market, explicitly describe your intended image and market position, show how you are going to satisfy customers’ basic buying motives, indicate your pricing policy and explain your tactics for promotion.