Originally posted May 28, 2012 Consistent long term growth rates are one of the tenets of buy and hold investing. In the case of the S&P 500 this annual growth rate has averaged 5.9% since 1950 (dividends excluded, compounded monthly). All you need to do is invest early, be patient, and wait for the inevitable payoff. The last 12 years have not been kind to …
Apparently, Vanguard likes to keep their ETF ex-dividend and distribution dates a secret until just a couple days before the event. It has that old mutual fund feel to it—”we’ll give you a quote after-market and allow you to buy or sell our stuff at the end of the day, otherwise go away…” As a result, the dates below are just guesses, based on previous year’s …
The Euro drama has entered a new phase. Unless the Germany, the European Central Bank, and the IMF blink it’s likely Greece will exit the Euro. Financial austerity piled on top of crushing unemployment has fomented widespread discontent with ongoing demands from the richer countries for the poor to tighten their belts even further. The stay-the-course crowd still claims that this pain will lead to …
I’m starting a new feature on my blog that will show up in my side bar—The Volatility Landscape. In this space I will post alerts, news, predictions, volatility ETN/ETFs that I think should be avoided, links to white papers/ newsletters, my wish list of volatility items, and a link to my Volatility Tickers master list of all US listed volatility funds. A few comments about …
At the moment investment grade bonds with their low yields and risky exposure to interest rates are unattractive places to put your money. Broad equity indexes like the S&P 500 have higher potential gains and dividend yields in the 2% range, but the dramatic drawdowns of 2008/2009 are still fresh in our minds. Commodities like gold and oil look expensive—so where is a …
