Every One Of Today’s “Super Stocks” Were At One Time Dogs
It is very easy in hindsight to be in awe of one of today’s “great” stocks, and dream about how much money you could have if you had only invested decades ago.
For example, Apple stock since 1992, which is up about 8,300%:
But this doesn’t tell the whole story. Many of today’s great companies had periods where their stock performed terribly. There were times in history when Apple stock was down 80%, Home Depot down 75%, Nike down 70%. Here are some of the worst performing stretches of today’s “Super Stocks”:
Chart(s) of the Week: Yield Curves From Around the World
Big news this week as the U.S. yield curve has been flattening rapidly. Why should you care?
Here Bloomberg takes a look at the spread (or difference in interest rates) between 3 month treasury bills and 10 year treasury notes. Notice how inverted spreads (where short term treasuries yield more than long term treasuries) have often been a sign of an imminent recession:
The week starts off with an ominous article in the Wall Street Journal. Margin debt, or loans investors have taken out with their investments as collateral has hit an all time high. Higher than just before the 2000 bursting of the tech bubble, higher than just before the 2007 financial crisis.
Chart of the Week – International Markets vs. S&P 500
This week’s Chart of the Week comes from the most recent ‘Guide to the Markets’ put out by the wealth management folks at JP Morgan:
How much longer can the trend last? Here’s some thoughts: [continue reading…]
Chart of the Week: How Buffett’s Wealth has Grown Over Time – The Power of Compounding Interest
Buffett says that compounding interest is one of the main reasons he is where he is today. In our Chart of the Week, we look at his journey in detail. From his first $120 saved from selling packs of gum and coca colas in 1942 to his $72 billion today. [continue reading…]
Chart of the Week: Dimensional Fund Advisors vs. Benchmarks
This week we are looking at one fund company with a stellar track record and looking at the ins and outs of their investment philosophy. The company is Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA for short), which is one of the fastest growing large fund managers out there today.
Now today in our chart of the week we look at how his company as applied that philosophy and how they (and their investors) have benefited. [continue reading…]
Chart(s) of the Week – The Effect of Inherited Volatility
In yesterday’s quote of the week we looked at the findings of numerous studies focusing on the average investors’ underperformance to a stated fund’s annual returns. This underperformance stems from investors trying to time the stock market, attempting to buy and sell multiple times per year in attempt to outperform the general market and chasing returns by buying yesterdays “hot” funds hoping the returns continue. Mr. McNabb, Vanguard’s chairman and CEO, calls this behavior “inheriting volatility”. In this week’s Chart(s) of the Week we are looking at exactly how much investors are hurting themselves over the long run. [continue reading…]
Our Quote and Chart of the week: Want a free $15,000? The timing of your IRA contribution can make all the difference.
This week on Begin To Invest, we are all about setting up 2015 to be the best year possible. Here’s one thing you can do tomorrow to improve your long term returns: Contribute to your IRA! (Before April of 2016)
But why would anyone actually cheer for market sell offs? Doesn’t anyone who owns stocks want them to go up?
Here is why those of you with decades left to invest should be getting on your knees and praying for cheaper shares. [continue reading…]
Chart of the Week: What Could You Buy With $200 Billion?
Recently, Facebook’s market cap has surpassed $200 billion dollars. That got me thinking….
What other companies could you buy for $200 billion, and how do those companies compare to Facebook?
First, we look at the market caps of a few companies. In other words – how much it would cost to buy the company: [continue reading…]
Chart of the Week: Millennials Favorite Investment is Also the Worst Performing
Bankrate.com is out this afternoon with results of their monthly financial survey. One of the questions Bankrate asks is: “What is your preferred method of investing money that you don’t need for at least 10 years.” [continue reading…]
