When you’re trading stocks, options, bonds, commodities and other financial instruments, it’s important to get a handle on what the so-called smart money is doing. The giant footprint that professional money managers leave when they move en masse into or out of a particular asset class is quite often the precursor to bigger price movements in that sector. Now, there is perhaps no smarter money out there than the money that’s… Read More

When you’re trading stocks, options, bonds, commodities and other financial instruments, it’s important to get a handle on what the so-called smart money is doing. The giant footprint that professional money managers leave when they move en masse into or out of a particular asset class is quite often the precursor to bigger price movements in that sector. Now, there is perhaps no smarter money out there than the money that’s run by university endowments. These often multibillion-dollar endowment fund portfolios tend to be managed in a cautious way and rarely make drastic moves. When you see much of this segment of the smart money make a big move away from a certain asset class, you had better take notice.#-ad_banner-# So, when I read an article in the Financial Times that detailed the recent flight out of U.S. government debt by university endowments, it grabbed… Read More

When you’re trading stocks, options, bonds, commodities and other financial instruments, it’s important to get a handle on what the so-called smart money is doing. The giant footprint that professional money managers leave when they move en masse into or out of a particular asset class is quite often the precursor to bigger price movements in that sector. Now, there is perhaps no smarter money out there than the money that’s… Read More

When you’re trading stocks, options, bonds, commodities and other financial instruments, it’s important to get a handle on what the so-called smart money is doing. The giant footprint that professional money managers leave when they move en masse into or out of a particular asset class is quite often the precursor to bigger price movements in that sector. Now, there is perhaps no smarter money out there than the money that’s run by university endowments. These often multibillion-dollar endowment fund portfolios tend to be managed in a cautious way and rarely make drastic moves. When you see much of this segment of the smart money make a big move away from a certain asset class, you had better take notice.#-ad_banner-# So, when I read an article in the Financial Times that detailed the recent flight out of U.S. government debt by university endowments, it grabbed… Read More

Few would mistake the current market action with what we saw back in 2000, but it’s increasingly clear that investors have become conditioned to ever-rising stock prices. The S&P 500 has posted a very impressive… Read More

Few would mistake the current market action with what we saw back in 2000, but it’s increasingly clear that investors have become conditioned to ever-rising stock prices. The S&P 500 has posted a very impressive… Read More

I’ve been investing for 20 years, and for the first half of my investing career, I repeatedly made the same mistake. I’d buy beaten-up stocks, they’d barely budge for an extended period, and I’d finally give up and sell my investment for a modest gain or loss. Invariably, when I looked back on that stock a few years later, it had greatly appreciated in value — long after… Read More

I’ve been investing for 20 years, and for the first half of my investing career, I repeatedly made the same mistake. I’d buy beaten-up stocks, they’d barely budge for an extended period, and I’d finally give up and sell my investment for a modest gain or loss. Invariably, when I looked back on that stock a few years later, it had greatly appreciated in value — long after I had given up on it.#-ad_banner-# Any time a stock falls sharply, it’s awfully tempting to jump in. We’re simply conditioned to pursue items when they are on sale, so a 50% or even 70% plunge can get our juices flowing. You’re probably right that deep value exists when a stock has sold off sharply. But that doesn’t mean you should jump right in. Turnarounds are one of the few types of stocks in which you can double or triple your… Read More

Despite first-quarter growth slightly below expectations, I recently encouraged investors to relax and enjoy the market for at least another year until we see any real weakness in stock prices.#-ad_banner-#… Read More

While staying cautious, traders need to remember that there is nothing more bullish than rising prices. When prices are trending higher, they can repeatedly reach new all-time highs. Higher highs are, in fact, the definition of an uptrend. This is a reason for… Read More

There isn’t a lot of good economic news to go around these days. In the final year of President George W. Bush’s second term and in the first two years of President Barack Obama’s first term, the… Read More

If you’ve ever taken a road trip, you know there are usually two ways to get to a place: the boring interstate way and the “scenic” route. The first option is usually pretty much a straight line between point A and point B;… Read More

Major stock market averages are less than 3% from all-time highs, but the bears have found new reasons to doubt the rally. Bears got it right last week, but the long-term trend still looks… Read More