November 2012

Fun and Games and Obvious Manipulation

Friday’s close was the most obviously, nakedly manipulated bullshit close I’ve ever seen. I have no idea who is behind it but this is not what healthy, well-participated-in markets do. There are too many real players to allow for this kind of thing to be able to happen in a real market. This market we…

A Graveyard for Tacticians

Whatever the market historians say about the 2012 stock market years from now, they will certainly have to at least mention how difficult it was for those who practice tactical asset allocation. Not just difficult, actually it was a graveyard. I’m going to show you why: In 2012, there were very few ways to win…

The Herd Gets Holistic

Because as their advisors get more holistic and client-centric, they’ll be muddling your message a bit, blurring the lines of your “competitive advantage.”

The Death of a Salesman

Amidst all of the news today about Cliffs and Greeks etc, you may have missed the fact that Zig Ziglar, beloved motivational speaker and author has passed away at 86 yeas old. If you’ve ever worked in a professional sales organization, odds are you’ve come across his work in some way. The brokerage industry that…