The Latest News From Oak Street Investments
Predictions, Money and Mattresses
I don’t usually make short-term market guesses – my crystal ball has been in the shop for almost 20 years; at this point I can’t remember if it was cracked or just fogged. I believe in the power of long-term markets, good diversification and poor performance as a result of short-term market prognosticating.
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Remembering the Good Times
It’s often said that the market takes the escalator up and the elevator down. For concrete evidence, simply look at the performance of the indexes the past few weeks. A close look at the headlines or nightly news (caution: this may be bad for your health and is proven to be bad for your portfolios) and you may think it’s only a matter of time before the indexes hit an all time low! And no, that’s not really a thing!
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Dealing With Fluctuating Markets: Q3 2021 Quarterly Market Review
Whether you’re a long-time investor or you’re new to the market, fluctuations – and losses – can feel jarring. In fact, we know from research that losses are significantly more painful than gains of a similar size are rewarding. Yet successful investors continue to invest because they know that over long periods of time, investing…
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Don’t Let Your Parents Start a 529 for your Kids
If you have parents who are offering to help you with college planning for your kids…lucky you! With college tuition increasing 7-8% every year, most of us can use all the help we can get. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to accept this assistance. While your parents might want to…
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If You’re Doing This, You Might Not Get the Financial Results You Want
As someone who works in the tech industry, chances are you’re going to relate to the scenario I’m about to describe. Someone walks into your office and says, “I’ve been wondering about _____, so I Googled it and now I think I can do it on my own, but I’m not quite sure.” …
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What Makes Financial Planning for Tech Professionals Different?
Almost every client who walks through my (virtual) door these days has one thing in common: they’ve realized their time is better spent doing something other than dealing with their money. Many of us hit that tipping point at some time. You can change your own oil, but that could take you five hours, so…
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You Only Live Once: 2021 Q1 Quarterly Market Review
You only live once! Social media investors have banded together on unconventional platforms to drive up the prices of a handful of “meme stocks,” seemingly without traditional evaluation of investing risks and rewards. They made headlines with their “short squeeze” of GameStop (GME), and, as they garner media attention, their tactics continue. While it’s not…
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Game-Stop Right There!
In the previous blog, GameStop, Blackberry, AMC: How “Dud” Companies are Suddenly Worth Billions, we discussed the origins of the GameStop and meme-stock fiasco. Now let’s take a look at some of the other players (read: enablers) and the possible outcomes of this type of trading. Reddit As GameStop’s stock price was going vertical,…
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Kevin Bacon and Sidelined Cash – 2Q2022
As 80s heartthrob, loose-footed, and distant-relative-to-all Kevin Bacon asked in the classic 1978 comedy Animal House (based on Harold Ramis’ experience at my alma mater WashU), “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” After a difficult 1st quarter, the US markets delivered another blow to investor portfolios, ending the first half of the year down…
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