Stephen's Blog

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When I was rich and single (that’s redundant, by the way), I owned a 36 foot cruiser that I played with in the Gulf Of Mexico off the north Florida coast. I learned quickly that instead of trying to blast my way through heavy seas toward my destination, I was far better off pulling back on the throttle to a speed where I held a constant, manageable course. Today’s economic environment is quite like heavy seas. High ups, high downs, lots of force and volatility. In these economic seas it is... Read More

Last year this time I was commenting on how the average mutual fund returned only a paltry 1.1% over the previous decade. Now you can add another year to that. How can investors truly plan for major life events such as retirement, or accomplishing the accumulation of enough money to buy a second home if they invest in an “average mutual fund”? Simply put, they can’t. When I got into the financial services industry in 1981 there were fewer than 500 mutual funds. Today, there are over 23,000!... Read More

OK, unemployment has dipped, the stock market has crept upand everything is now looking good. Right? Maybe not. The federal debt still remains at over $14 trillion,unfunded liabilities totaling over $143 trillion, and there are some seriousreports circulating that suggest we are on a precipice of economic calamity.Still, the waters right outside the boat’s window look relatively calm. So,where are we, really? We just went through the Christmas season and as the fatherof children still young... Read More