Sometimes, names can be misleading. Consider hedge funds, for example. The “hedging” in hedge funds’ day-to day-operations sometimes generates more risk, not less. How much more? Well, Long-Term Capital Management L.P. (LTCM), which had a great name that implied longevity and long-term thinking, had a fantastic team that counted not one but two Nobel Laureates in economics. Long-Term Capital Management ended up being relatively short-lived during the 1990s, lasting only about six years. Fast forward two decades. The hedge fund industry is alive and well, having survived not only LTCM, but also the Great Recession, during which many funds closed. Read More

Sometimes, names can be misleading. Consider hedge funds, for example. The “hedging” in hedge funds’ day-to day-operations sometimes generates more risk, not less. How much more? Well, Long-Term Capital Management L.P. (LTCM), which had a great name that implied longevity and long-term thinking, had a fantastic team that counted not one but two Nobel Laureates in economics. Long-Term Capital Management ended up being relatively short-lived during the 1990s, lasting only about six years. Fast forward two decades. The hedge fund industry is alive and well, having survived not only LTCM, but also the Great Recession, during which many funds closed. The industry has also weathered outright frauds such as the Bernie Madoff scandal. The modern hedge fund world is diverse. Some hedge funds (defined as private investment pools available to qualified, or “accredited,” investors) are similar, by composition, to mutual funds, albeit with more concentrated portfolios. Some invest in everything from stocks to bonds to real estate to gold and other commodities, and many continue using derivative strategies and hedging techniques. Leverage is not uncommon. These days, many hedge funds invest (and trade) in equities, and it’s normal to see a hedge fund or two among the top holders of… Read More

If you’re an investor looking for game-changing trends, your formula for success should include seeking out a growing business, trend, sector, or even country. Often, knowing what to look for is the most important step in your process. That’s why just this month, my Game-Changing Stocks subscribers and I went… Read More

As we enter 2017, between the incoming rate hikes and improved growth expectations, it looks as if new opportunities are developing among Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs. These stocks offer a simple way to invest in real estate for income as well as growth. REITs are designed to benefit from the attractive fundamentals of real estate, without saddling smaller investors with the high capital requirements and low liquidity of actual houses or other physical assets. Through various REITs, an investor can simultaneously become a landlord in an apartment complex 500 miles away, an owner of a high-end shopping center,… Read More

As we enter 2017, between the incoming rate hikes and improved growth expectations, it looks as if new opportunities are developing among Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs. These stocks offer a simple way to invest in real estate for income as well as growth. REITs are designed to benefit from the attractive fundamentals of real estate, without saddling smaller investors with the high capital requirements and low liquidity of actual houses or other physical assets. Through various REITs, an investor can simultaneously become a landlord in an apartment complex 500 miles away, an owner of a high-end shopping center, or a self-storage entrepreneur, without the hassle of actually running these businesses. A REIT structure allows investors to not only benefit from the long-term value appreciation of all these assets, but it also enables them to get their share of income. The high returns offered by some REITs fit perfectly with the goal of my premium newsletter, The Daily Paycheck: to provide my readers with fat monthly dividend checks. —Sponsored Link— Top 6 Ways To Invest in 2017 — No. 4 Will Surprise You Interested in gold stocks but unsure where the price is headed? … Read More

Back in September, I wrote an essay detailing my reasons for adding Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) to the portfolio of my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks. If you’re familiar with my newsletter at all, then you probably know that we normally focus on lesser-known, smaller companies because these are usually most likely to be the stocks that have triple-digit return potential. My reasoning for adding the company was simple. While still a “game-changer,” Wall Street had soured on Twitter as the company continued to struggle to turn a profit more than three years after its initial public offering in 2013. —Sponsored Link—… Read More

Back in September, I wrote an essay detailing my reasons for adding Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) to the portfolio of my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks. If you’re familiar with my newsletter at all, then you probably know that we normally focus on lesser-known, smaller companies because these are usually most likely to be the stocks that have triple-digit return potential. My reasoning for adding the company was simple. While still a “game-changer,” Wall Street had soured on Twitter as the company continued to struggle to turn a profit more than three years after its initial public offering in 2013. —Sponsored Link— Former Google Exec Quits Dream Job To Launch Marijuana Empire Last year, Alan Gertner was in charge of a $100 million Asia-Pacific division for this internet titan. But he gave it all up. And soon he could become wealthier than he ever imagined from the United States’ “green” gold rush. $200 billion could be at stake. And you could get a big piece of it. Full story… But I’m optimistic in a turnaround. For one, as I discussed previously, Twitter is actively taking steps to monetize its huge user base through… Read More

They said they would do it, and they did it. And they just told us to brace for more. The U.S. central bankers last week hiked the main interest rate for just the second time since the Great Recession.  This 25 basis-point increase in the Fed Funds rate, which just happened to come about a year after the first one tripped up the stock market rally, was telegraphed well in advance. Almost everyone expected this result as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting concluded on Wednesday, Dec. 14.  Even before the December meeting, U.S. Treasuries of all maturities came… Read More

They said they would do it, and they did it. And they just told us to brace for more. The U.S. central bankers last week hiked the main interest rate for just the second time since the Great Recession.  This 25 basis-point increase in the Fed Funds rate, which just happened to come about a year after the first one tripped up the stock market rally, was telegraphed well in advance. Almost everyone expected this result as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting concluded on Wednesday, Dec. 14.  Even before the December meeting, U.S. Treasuries of all maturities came under selling pressure, with interest rates rallying. One reason was the widespread optimism about economic growth and the ensuing equity rally. Another reason was the market speculating that the economy was strong, and that economic data would mean the Fed guiding for more than two rate hikes in 2017. In fact, it’s likely that not two but three interest rate hikes are in the cards for 2017. This is what the Fed signaled at the December meeting, and, given the latest economic data combined with policy outlook, this scenario seems plausible.  Investors, especially income-starved retirees, have many questions: What will… Read More