Barron's - Retired? Here Are 3 Things You Need to Get Right.

"Jennifer Bellis, private wealth advisor at US Bank Private Wealth Management, is even more conservative. She advocates an equity portion that’s closer to 20% to 30% of the retiree’s portfolio, with an emphasis on dividend-paying stocks. She also puts her clients in real estate investment trusts and preferred stocks because of their income streams."

Link here.

What a Stock Market Bottom Looks Like

"There is just no way to tell when this will happen ahead of time.

This is the joy of investing in risk assets.

Sometimes you simply need to have a little faith and a lot of patience."

Link here.

U.S. Army recommends food stamps for soldiers struggling with inflation

“Based on the Pentagon’s own data, 24% of enlisted personnel are food insecure,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.

Thank goodness we have unlimited funds to give to Ukraine and shovel to MIC contractors.

Link here.

Caitlin Johnstone: Making Kissinger Look Sane

“Mr. Kissinger sees today’s world as verging on a dangerous disequilibrium. ‘We are at the edge of war with Russia and China on issues which we partly created, without any concept of how this is going to end or what it’s supposed to lead to,’ he says.

That about sums it up.

Link here.

Small cap PEs - August 2022

We'll see . . .

 

Good advice from Barry Ritholtz - Capitulation Playbook

1. Begin Humbly: We never know how far these drawdowns will go or how long they will last. Is this a shallow 20% pullback? A 30% crash? Worse? (We don’t know). 2020’s 34% crash barely lasted a month, the 2008-09 GFC ran for 18 months, and 1966-1982 bear market was 16 years long.

Begin your plan by acknowledging you are venturing into the unknown. Never bet the farm or assume so much risk that an entire portfolio can be destroyed if the underlying premise turns out to be wrong (aka “early”).

2. Seek Asymmetry: Look for opportunities that have much greater upside than potential downside. Traders never know which of their positions will work out or not in advance. There is value in creating a potential for net gains, even if you only bat .300.

3. Automate: The best-intentioned bottom buyers often fail to execute trades (despite their own desires) out of fear and emotion. Remove your limbic system from the process by deciding upon a series of entries, and then automating them.

4. Buy Over Time: Rather than guessing a specific “ideal” entry date mid-sell off, consider spreading out your purchases across months. Pick six dates over the next year with chunks of your discretionary trading capital. This guarantees you will be both early and late – but it also creates a high probability your average purchase price will be considerably lower than where the market is six months into the recovery.

5. Buy Across Prices Levels: Another approach to avoid guessing the bottom is to make multiple purchases at different price levels: Example: Set GTC limit purchase orders to buy a broad index down 19%, 26%, 33%, 42%, even 53%. (I like to avoid round numbers). If only half of your orders get executed it means markets avoided matching some of the worst downturns of the past 20 years – but you were still a buyer at advantageous prices.

6. Favorite Stocks: As much as I like broad indices, some folks have their favorite companies. Consider the ones that may have run away from you last cycle that you would like to own long term. Whether its Nvidia or Apple or whatever your personal fave, follow the same strategy of making multiple purchases across different price levels.Link here.

Which Generation Has the Most Influence Over U.S. Politics?

The Changing Face of the U.S. Voter

Younger generations have very different perceptions on everything from cannabis to climate change. This is starting to be reflected in legislation.

2016 was a watershed moment for politicians vying for the vote—it was the last election in which Baby Boomers made up over a third of U.S. voters. Collectively, Boomers’ voting power will decline from here on out.

Link here.