Investments

Empower is offering free financial consultations until October 31, 2024, for anyone with over $250,000 in investable assets. I wanted to share my experience speaking with them and how I began my investing journey. If you complete two video calls by the deadline, you’ll receive a free $100 Visa gift card. There is no obligation […]

One of the investing strategies growing in popularity with the wealthy is Direct Indexing. Before my consulting stint at a fintech startup in 2024, I had never really heard of Direct Indexing. If I did, I likely assumed it simply meant directly investing in index funds, which many of us already do. However, Direct Indexing

In a previous post, I discussed the futility of working when your net worth is declining. During a stock market crash or recession, your Return on Effort (ROE) for working drops significantly. Therefore, the only way to increase your ROE is to work less, not more. At some point in your life, you’ll reach an

Starting on July 16, 2024, we had a mini-stock market crash with the S&P 500 declining from 5,667 to 5,186 by August 5, 2024 (-8.5%). The NASDAQ saw a larger drop, falling from a high of 18,647 on July 10, 2024, to 16,200 on August 5, 2024 (-13%). And the bloodletting might not be done

I’m a fan of both stock dividends and rental property income, my two favorite sources of passive / semi-passive income. When younger and less wealthy, rental property income may be preferable. As you age and accumulate wealth, you’ll likely appreciate stock dividend income more for its simplicity. However, stock dividend income’s main drawback is that

The failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump reminds us that more important than political bickering is the value of life. I hope there will be a coming together of both parties to help heal and strengthen the spirit of the American people. One inch to the right and Trump would probably be dead today. After

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.” But what about being even greedier when others are greedy?! As I sat peacefully in the hot tub recently, I began to recollect all the ways I wasn’t greedy enough since graduating from college in 1999. If only

During a recent liquidity crunch, I kept thinking how nice it would be to have more cash sitting in my bank account. Once I received a $106,000 real estate capital distribution, I felt a tremendous relief. But then I was faced with the somewhat stressful decision of how to reinvest it. My private real estate

One of the most common pushbacks I get from some of my investing and economy-related articles is that the stock market isn’t the economy. To conflate the two could be a mistake. I agree since not everybody owns stocks. Therefore, not everybody will benefit from rising stock prices. As an example, here’s a comment I

If you want to invest in venture capital, I believe it’s more beneficial to invest in a venture capital fund than in individual private companies. By investing in a venture capital fund, you will not only decrease your chances of losing money but also increase your chances of earning a positive return. I’ve been a

Despite my extensive experience of 13 years working in international equities, living abroad for the same duration, and visiting approximately 60 countries, I don’t allocate much of my investments to international stocks. I believe the risk outweighs the potential reward, especially when there are already numerous lucrative investment opportunities available in the United States. If

I recently caught up with Ben Miller, CEO of Fundrise in person, about the Innovation Fund’s latest investments in private AI (artificial intelligence) companies. Since launching the open-ended venture capital fund in 2H 2022, the Innovation Fund has made a series of promising AI investments that I was eager to learn more about, but unable

Recently, I received a capital distribution from a private real estate fund, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The experience brought me both joy and relief, prompting me to share it in the hope that it might inspire you to invest more for your future. After purchasing a new home in October

In general, the longer you stay invested, the greater your chance of making money. To help you maintain a long-term investment approach, it’s imperative to develop an investment thesis. Drawing from my experience in investing since 1995, it’s sometimes easy to get shaken out of a particular investment. Or it’s easy for some people to

With stocks again near record highs, it’s a good idea to find ways to spend some of your stock market gains. Owning stocks provides no utility or inherent joy (unless you’re a lover of money itself), so we must sell on occasion to capture its benefits. When I first began investing in stocks in 1996,

After a bull market in 2023, let’s look at the 2024 Wall Street forecasts for the S&P 500. Overall, the 2024 S&P 500 targets range from 4,200 to 5,500, implying returns between -8.1% and +20.3% from 4,559. Obviously, anything can happen between now and the new year. In addition, plenty of economic data and corporate

Everybody knows that being a long-term investor is the way to go. The longer you can stay invested in the stock market and real estate markets, the greater your chances of making more money. There’s just one big problem with being long-term investors. We eventually all run out of time. And if we run out

Are you ready for another recession? With interest rates surging, oil prices rices, stock markets falling, the government stalling, and the housing market grinding to a halt, it seems inevitable another recession is just around the corner. Don’t wait until it’s too late to prepare. Surely, there will be a bunch more regional bank failures

My first venture capital investment was in 2007. I invested $70,000 in my college classmate’s gin company called Bulldog Gin, which ended up selling to Campari in 2017. Looking back, investing $70,000 in a single private company at age 30 was irresponsible! I knew nothing about the spirits market. All I knew was the founder,