Stocks and Bonds
Matthews Asia Funds: 3 Qualities We Like and 2 Funds We Find Appealing
Matthews Asia Funds have been investing in Asian companies since Paul Matthews founded the firm in 1991. IAM has held some of these funds in client accounts for over 10 years. What benefits do they offer? We’ll answer that question, as well as highlight two funds we’ve recently been adding to client accounts. Focused [...]
It’s THAT Season Again!
Fall is one of my favorite seasons, since here in Texas the temperature finally starts to cool off and we no longer have to wear summer shorts to Friday night high school football games. Meanwhile in the investment world, we’re currently in the midst of “earnings season.” About now, many large publicly-traded companies release their [...]
Pending Income Shortage? 5 Ideas on How to Cope
I was listening to PIMCO’s Cyclical Outlook webcast recently and the speaker concluded his presentation with something like this- “Grab income now before it gets away. Let’s get it for our clients before others do.” Like many of our clients, IAM’s investment team has been acutely aware of the challenges facing individuals seeking income. Certificates [...]
What do Caterpillar, McGraw-Hill, and Microsoft Have In Common?
Not much, except they were all elevated to IAM’s SELECT List and SELECT Dividend List in August. We believe all three meet our high-quality, SELECT standards. Few securities analysts or portfolio managers would fail to consider them well-respected, “blue chip” stocks. How about another little test? See if you can rank them in order of [...]
Does Cash Still Serve a Purpose in Investment Portfolios?
Interest rates on cash are currently near zero. Were it not for subsidies provided by mutual fund companies, most money market funds would carry a negative return. In other words, they cost more to run than they earn. This situation is unlikely to change any time soon since the Federal Reserve Board has vowed to [...]
Primer on Asset Allocation
What is the right mix of stocks, bonds and other asset classes in your portfolio? Financial scholars and practitioners have debated this question for decades, and it gets to the heart of asset allocation. The concept is important because asset allocation impacts not only your future return expectations, but also what level of volatility, also [...]
State Street – NOT an “Itsy Bitsy” SPDR
All this talk about the upcoming “The Amazing Spider Man” movie has me thinking about SPDR’s. If you’ve heard of SPDR ETF’s, then you’re already somewhat familiar with State Street. In fact, the $69 billion SPDR Gold Trust is definitely not your typical “itsy bitsy.” But State Street Corporation is so much more than a [...]
Will Your Finances Survive To Age 95?
A 2012 survey by Northwestern Mutual Life of 1,015 American adults found that only 36% felt prepared to fund retirement through age 95. Just 56% said they could pay for it through age 75. This is a huge challenge for most individuals. How do you build enough assets to support a long life? How much [...]
John Deere: Committed to Those Linked to the Land
It all started in 1837 when a pioneer blacksmith named John Deere took a broken steel sawmill blade and invented the first self-scouring plow. He knew the nearby farmers in Grand Detour, Illinois had problems with sticky prairie soil adhering to their plow blades. John crafted a creative solution using the sawmill blade with its [...]
Siri Doesn’t Speak Chinese but Asian Consumers Still Like Apple
Did you notice that Apple’s stock fell 76 points, or 12%, in April as investors grew uncertain about its first quarter earnings report? Yes, analysts began to wonder whether iPhone 4S sales might slow meaningfully following a blockbuster launch in Q4. That fear accelerated as AT&T and Verizon Wireless reported lower iPhone activations in reports [...]
