What’s Behind Door # 1? (A Brief look at 2011 income taxes)
As you probably know by now the Bush tax cuts which were enacted in 2001 and also 2003 are set to expire at the end of 2010. If Congress fails to act on taxes soon, these lower rates will be a memory, and higher tax rates will begin in 2011. Actually the rates would revert…
Read MoreUsing Option Collars to Reduce Risk
Many people think of stock options as a risky investment strategy used mostly by highfalutin Wall Street types with millions to burn. While it’s certainly true that you can get yourself into trouble with an ill-advised option position, options can also be used to effectively reduce portfolio risk. One option strategy that can do this…
Read MoreMonte Carlo Simulation
If you are a client of ours, you have probably heard us at one time or another talk about Monte Carlo Simulation (or Monte Carlo Analysis). The term itself is kind of strange sounding, and the first time you hear it you’re bound to conjure up images of either the famous casino in Monaco or…
Read MoreWhat is a Market Maker?
This is a term you may have come across occasionally, but Market Makers have been in the news quite a bit in the past few weeks in reference to the “Flash Crash” that took place earlier this month. Unless you live in a cave, you’re probably aware that during the Flash Crash the Dow Jones…
Read MorePart IV. Fund of Hedge Funds
There is yet another way that investors can access the “alternative” strategies that traditionally have only been available through hedge funds. This is the creature known as the “fund of hedge funds” (FOHF), which is simply a fund that invests its assets in two or more hedge funds. Some FOHFs register with the SEC, and…
Read MorePart III. Hedge Fund Strategies in Mutual Fund Format
So, you don’t qualify as an accredited investor, (It’s okay. There are lots of us.) but you’re yearning for those sexy and sophisticated hedge fund strategies? Or perhaps you are an accredited investor, but you can’t stomach the big initial investment required by most hedge funds? Well friends, when there is a demand for something…
Read MoreMany Areas Less Affected by Housing Bust
There was an interesting post yesterday in the Wall Street Journal Blogs/Real Time Economics section discussing how many areas of the country have not had such a serious housing bust as California, Arizona, Florida, and the East coast have had. See, Much of U.S. was Insulated From Housing Bust in the WSJ. The main reasons…
Read MorePart II. Hedge Funds vs. Mutual Funds
Hedge funds and mutual funds are both investment vehicles that involve a professionally managed portfolio in which investors hope to achieve a positive return. Neither of them are purchased or sold on stock exchanges. Other than that, there are relatively few similarities. Let’s talk about the differences. Who can invest? As I discussed in Part…
Read MoreWhat’s a Hedge Fund? Part I
We hear about these things all the time, usually in the context of someone talking about a “billionaire hedge fund manager”. Most people who don’t really know what hedge funds are have nevertheless formed impressions that they are risky and only available to the ultra-wealthy. Is there any truth behind these impressions? Let’s talk. What’s…
Read MoreEstate Planning Update, February 17, 2010
Although we take pride in the fact that we write our own weblog content, we will occasionally post material from outside sources that we have come to trust. The article printed below was authored by Attorney John J. Scroggin. We were granted permission to post it here by virtue of our subscription to LISI (Leimberg…
Read More