SMA Comment

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Thumbnail image for The S&P 500: 2013 Versus 1987

The stock market rally has been unrelenting and it is rare to see it continue so long without a correction. The S&P 500 has been up six months in a row without a pullback of 5%. The market is up an impressive 18% year-to-date. In comparison, the average annual gain ...

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Thumbnail image for Stock Market Advantage Sell Signal

The Tactical Timing System has generated a sell signal. To comply with the system the following positions will be sold today. The proceeds will be placed in money market assets while awaiting the introduction of Vanguard’s new international bond ETFs [link]. Position (Symbol) BT Group (BT) Exxon Mobil (XOM) Marathon ...

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Thumbnail image for Is the Retirement Crisis Really a Crisis?

PBS Frontline recently presented a documentary called “The Retirement Gamble” which examines the role of the financial services industry in the developing retirement savings shortfall facing a large number of Americans. According to PBS correspondent Martin Smith, “half of Americans say they can’t afford to save for retirement while 1/3 ...

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Thumbnail image for Jeremy Siegel: Dow 16,000 by End of Year 2013

Jeremy Siegel, Wharton University professor of finance, was on CNBC a few days ago and said the market was not just going up only because of the Fed’s Quantitative Easing (QE); a popular viewpoint. Siegel said stocks were one of the few reasonable priced assets available, which would not include ...

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Thumbnail image for SMA Portfolio Rebalancing Part Two

As noted in an earlier post the SMA Portfolio required rebalancing. The sale of the entire position in the SPDR Dow Jones International Real Estate (RWX; $42.86) ETF and 40% of the position in Nautilus (NLS; $7.45) was accomplished today. All that remains is the selection of a fixed income ...

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A review of the Stock Market Advantage portfolio revealed the allocation of assets has shifted from the targeted allocation of 70% fixed income and 30% equities. The SMA portfolio is now approximately 33% equities, 64% fixed income, and 3% cash due to the relentless advance of the stock market. Over ...

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Thumbnail image for John Bogle Discloses His Personal Asset Allocation

Speaking to CNBC’s Mandy Drury yesterday, John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group, said the stock market will do “a lot of funny things” over the next 10 years. Over that timeframe investors can expect two stock market declines of 25-30%, he added. Bogle said he preferred stocks over bonds, ...

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Thumbnail image for Barron’s Rates the Online Brokers

The latest issue of Barron’s Magazine features their annual ratings of online brokers. This year Barron’s reviewed 27 online brokers based on eight factors including usability, range of offerings, portfolio analysis and reports, and cost. Their highest rating goes to Interactive Brokers. Barron’s top ten includes such well-known names such ...

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Thumbnail image for Mark Hulbert on the Implications of Stock Market Making New Highs

Mark Hulbert, editor of the Hulbert Financial Digest, was interviewed by CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla regarding the implications if the Dow breaches its record high of 14,164. Citing 70 years of data from Ned Davis Research, Hulbert said their analysis of 13 instances where the stock market reached a new high ...

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Thumbnail image for Martin Zweig Death Reported

The death of Martin Zweig, author of Winning on Wall Street and a frequent panelist on Wall Street Week, was reported yesterday. Zweig’s realistic assessment of the prospects for stocks was a refreshing change from the usually upbeat panelists and guests on Louis Rukeyser’s PBS show. Not that Zweig was ...

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