With the S&P 500 fully recovered from the correction earlier this year, and hovering near its all-time high, the current bull market in U.S. large-cap stocks remains one of the longest in history. The reasons for this bull market are still in debate. Skeptics suggest the rise is a product of artificially low, government-suppressed interest …Read More
On October 8, 2017, a fire began in Calistoga, California, that would kill 43 people and displace 100,000 others. Because of the weather conditions, the fire moved fast. The following morning, I remember hearing that the fire had jumped the 101 freeway and engulfed the Fountaingrove Inn. By the time my first meeting of the day …Read More
In 2017 investors benefited from an unusually non-volatile market with consistent growth, but 2018 has been notably less euphoric. So what changed? In short, tariffs: these economic and political tools are the only force holding back the U.S. stock market in 2018. A tariff is a border tax imposed by a country on imported goods. …Read More
Thanks to the St. Patrick’s Day editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, I learned about American Keg in Pottstown, PA, the only remaining U.S. manufacturer of stainless steel beer kegs. Their biggest seller is the 15.5 gallon keg, very popular with fraternities, bars, and restaurants. Despite competition from Germany and China with cheaper kegs, …Read More
Last month, the radio show Radiolab aired a story about the Benrath Senior Center in Dusseldorf, Germany. Like many centers of its kind, some of its patients suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. On occasion, these patients would try to walk out of the center. Most of the time, staff would intervene before a patient …Read More
Some years ago, a client came to me concerned about his long-term care policy. He purchased the policy through CalPERS. It would cover much of the cost of long-term care for all of his life, but he had just been informed that his premiums would be going up by 85%. The increase made him want …Read More
Believe it or not, there is a new concern afoot that retired Americans are not spending enough money! This runs completely counter to the dominant conversation that Americans are in a retirement crisis and woefully unprepared for life after work. Finance professor Meir Statman writes about the “Consumption Gap”, which he defines as the gap …Read More
Cash can make you happy, at least according to an article from the Wall Street Journal titled “Money and Happiness: A Surprising Twist,” published last year. The article cites a study by a team of researchers from the University of California at Riverside and the University of Cambridge in the U.K. that focused on bank …Read More
By no means am I an authentic basketball fan. For example, I do not under-stand a pick and roll. But our Oakland office at 11th and Broadway is directly across the street from the Golden State Warriors’ headquarters and practice court atop the Oakland Convention Center. Occasionally we see Warriors in restaurants and crossing the …Read More
A caption to a Wall Street Journal article from November 2016 read, “Home prices set a record in September (2016), reaching their highest level since 2006 and bringing to a close the worst stretch for the housing market since the Great Depression.” This caption may have seemed intuitive to many readers across the country, but …Read More
Bell Investment Advisors has been a major supporter of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir (PEBCC.org) for almost ten years. We are lifelong music lovers and consider our involvement with Bay Area music and arts organizations central to making a good life happen for our family, our business, and our community. On Sunday, December 2 from …Read More
