Posted by Jake Erlendson on 04/23/2012
About a month ago a senior investment banker from a prominent Wall Street firm grabbed the public spotlight by publishing his reasons for resignation in a New York Times opinion piece. He stated that his primary reason for resigning was that the culture of the firm had strayed away from the core principle of serving client interests first. Among the disturbing revelations in the…
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Posted by Jacqueline Bell on 02/13/2012
There has been a lot of buzz in the financial press in the last week about Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO). One of the most interesting articles appeared in the Wall Street Journal on February 4th. It compares an investment in Facebook with an 18th-century mathematical riddle called the St. Petersburg Paradox. In that riddle,…
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Posted by Mark Munoz on 01/26/2012
Since the firm’s inception, we have placed considerable focus on obtaining and maintaining the accuracy and integrity of our clients’ cost basis data. As an investment advisor, we believe that preserving this data is critical to our clients, their tax professionals, and the investment management process. Recent legislation has resulted in significant changes in cost…
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Posted by Jacqueline Bell on 12/09/2011
For over a decade Bill Miller, portfolio manager of the Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust mutual fund (Value Trust) for 29 years, had been somewhat of a celebrity in investment circles. His claim to fame was that from 1991 through 2005, Value Trust outperformed the S&P 500 Index each calendar year, earning Miller accolades…
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Posted by Jacqueline Bell on 10/03/2011
As is typical in periods of significant global macro anxiety, there ensued a flight to quality that pushed the price of Treasury bonds higher (Treasury bonds returned 2.78% for the month of August despite the loss of the AAA rating.) Therefore, to gauge the effect of volatility on long-term investors, Vanguard compared the performance of…
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Posted by Jacqueline Bell on 05/13/2011
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal drew four lessons from the conviction of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, on insider-trading charges, that resonate with our investment philosophy at Dowling & Yahnke. The first is that hedge funds don’t necessarily deliver superior performance. In fact, over the last five to ten years most have…
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Posted by Jacqueline Bell on 03/23/2011
In the wake of negative comments made by high profile financial services analyst, Meredith Whitney, municipal bond prices have declined substantially in the last few months. Whitney claimed that there would be “50 to 100 sizeable defaults” by state and local governments in the near future. We have a different view. Historically muni bond defaults…
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Posted by Jacqueline Bell on 02/18/2011
Recent municipal bond market volatility has raised questions about the risks and rewards of investing in municipal bonds. Rising Treasury yields have weighed heavily on municipal bond prices. Negative press has helped lead to lower demand and higher redemptions in municipal bond funds. The media tend to focus on the most dramatic stories, such as…
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