On March 13, 1997 Microsoft stock went public for $21 a share. Today, thirty-four years later the stock has made many investors wealthy. Below is a sample list of similar stories. You can find and use an online total return calculator to see what $1000 invested at the IPO would be worth today. Try and … Read more
There are only two elements of risk that anyone can truly define. We know risk is something that could happen in the future, and we can’t see it or touch it. So risk is a projection of possible unknowns events or occurrences. The insurance industry has built a huge industry around the concept of spreading … Read more
The average rate of inflation from 1970 until 2020 has averaged about 3.85%. Instead of this rate we’ll use a lower estimated rate of 3% as an average for examples. This means if your cost of living today (2020) is $100k per year for goods and services that you spend annually then the following is … Read more
The successful corporation of Apple actually had 3 founders when it started back in 1976. Ronald Wayne was the third founder along with Jobs and Wozniak. The three gentlemen signed the contract between them in 1976. Twelve days later Wayne sold his 10% share of the partnership back to Jobs and Wozniak. Ultimately, he got … Read more
Stephen Greenspan, is a psychologist and author of the book “Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid It.” Greenspan’s book was published in 2008, and uses events like the Trojan Horse, Iraq and the inability to find weapons of mass destruction, and the faulty science with cold fusion as examples to … Read more
In December of 2009, the Wall Street Journal ran an article titled Best Stock Fund of the Decade. For the ten year period from 1999 until 2009 the CGM Focus Fund on average gained 18% per year. Achieving 18% per year returns would mean an investor could double their money every 4 years. As an … Read more
Below is a story posted on Twitter and the article from MarketWatch. It’s a sad story, but often true. I’ve been in the market for over thirty years, and I’ve seen it ruin friendships, wipe out people’s accounts, destroy people’s lives, and result in suicide. Never trade on margin, or get into products you don’t … Read more
In Robert Kiyosaki’s highly popular book titled Rich Dad Poor Dad he shows the difference between assets and liabilities, and further discusses the topic of your home. He says a home is a liability, and not an asset. He’s right. Even though your home is an emotional piece of what you own in your life, … Read more
The best data is usually a large sample of data when trying to infer patterns or results based on occurrences. Insurance companies use actuaries tables consisting of large data to determine their exposures to a potential risk. As an example, the insurance companies have compiled many years of historical data for a young driver having … Read more
Jim Simons, the famous mathematician and hedge fund manager of Renaissance Technologies, has built a money management empire based on using mathematical models. Renaissance manages an estimated $21 billion throughout its funds, and it’s $3.5 billion Medallion Fund has amassed estimated annual returns of 35% since March of 1988. Models are a powerful tool in … Read more