Hedge funds, those once mysterious investment vehicles of the ultra wealthy, have recently been thrust into the public eye.  Outsize returns combined with media coverage of the wild and crazy lifestyles of fraudulent rogue fund managers have sparked widespread interest in this form of investment. Colorful yet true tales of hedge fund managers faking suicides by crashing planes and leaping from bridges add to the mythos surrounding the business. While the negative aspects of hedge funds operated by criminal types have dominated the news and captured the public’s imagination, the fraudsters are a tiny minority of the business.#-ad_banner-# Tremendous positive… Read More

Hedge funds, those once mysterious investment vehicles of the ultra wealthy, have recently been thrust into the public eye.  Outsize returns combined with media coverage of the wild and crazy lifestyles of fraudulent rogue fund managers have sparked widespread interest in this form of investment. Colorful yet true tales of hedge fund managers faking suicides by crashing planes and leaping from bridges add to the mythos surrounding the business. While the negative aspects of hedge funds operated by criminal types have dominated the news and captured the public’s imagination, the fraudsters are a tiny minority of the business.#-ad_banner-# Tremendous positive global impact has also resulted from the proliferation of hedge funds. One example is Paul Tudor Jones’ Robin Hood Foundation. Made up of hedge fund managers and others in the financial business, this philanthropic organization has distributed more than $1 billion to help fight poverty in New York City. The most appealing thing about the group is that all administrative costs are paid for directly from the board of directors’ own pockets. This means 100% of donations go directly to those who need it most. There are numerous other philanthropic organizations that would not exist if… Read More

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Social media destroyed my business, but now I find it indispensible. Let me explain…  Starting from scratch as a newly minted college graduate with a business degree, lots of nerve and very little money, I launched my venture with a $15 investment… Read More

Everyone knows the old Wall Street adage: A bull market makes every investor a genius.  While the stock market has been on a roller-coaster ride in the daily picture, looking back over the past two years reveals a powerful uptrend in the major U.S. stock indices. This… Read More

Everyone knows the old Wall Street adage: A bull market makes every investor a genius.  While the stock market has been on a roller-coaster ride in the daily picture, looking back over the past two years reveals a powerful uptrend in the major U.S. stock indices. This… Read More

Stock market investing is often a game of follow the leader.  Large investors and institutions begin to purchase a particular stock or sector, creating a bullish upswing in price. In turn, this upward momentum attracts more investors who purchase shares, pushing the price even higher. This is the essence of… Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that… Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the… Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the source of the pain wasn’t my heart and that there was nothing wrong with my gastrointestinal region. By that time, the pain had faded, and the hospital gave me a clean bill of health, along with a prescription for painkillers.  Several days later, the debilitating pain returned. It lasted a few hours and then began to fade again.  This began to occur at least once a week, and I visited several medical facilities to determine the cause. No one was able to diagnose the cause, and painkillers remained the only solution to help me stay functional when the pain started. … Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the… Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the source of the pain wasn’t my heart and that there was nothing wrong with my gastrointestinal region. By that time, the pain had faded, and the hospital gave me a clean bill of health, along with a prescription for painkillers.  Several days later, the debilitating pain returned. It lasted a few hours and then began to fade again.  This began to occur at least once a week, and I visited several medical facilities to determine the cause. No one was able to diagnose the cause, and painkillers remained the only solution to help me stay functional when the pain started. … Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the… Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the source of the pain wasn’t my heart and that there was nothing wrong with my gastrointestinal region. By that time, the pain had faded, and the hospital gave me a clean bill of health, along with a prescription for painkillers.  Several days later, the debilitating pain returned. It lasted a few hours and then began to fade again.  This began to occur at least once a week, and I visited several medical facilities to determine the cause. No one was able to diagnose the cause, and painkillers remained the only solution to help me stay functional when the pain started. … Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the… Read More

I am willing to bet that more than a few readers have experienced the painful medical condition that I suffered about a decade ago.  It started soon after the birth of my son. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my abdomen that radiated up into my chest. At first, I was terrified, thinking I was having a heart attack.  Fortunately, the hospital was less than a mile away from our home. I decided to drive myself to the emergency room to avoid waking my family.#-ad_banner-# The emergency room personnel determined that the source of the pain wasn’t my heart and that there was nothing wrong with my gastrointestinal region. By that time, the pain had faded, and the hospital gave me a clean bill of health, along with a prescription for painkillers.  Several days later, the debilitating pain returned. It lasted a few hours and then began to fade again.  This began to occur at least once a week, and I visited several medical facilities to determine the cause. No one was able to diagnose the cause, and painkillers remained the only solution to help me stay functional when the pain started. … Read More