Investor Insights

While too many fret over every element in the news, data are improving on several fronts for the US. It seems pretty consistent - when other regions of the world get shaky--the US economy picks up the slack.

All the angst over Brexit and it has served as nothing more than another opportunity to take advantage of panic - or in this case "Branic." The dust will settle and the odds are high that years from now we will witness this as something different - another opportunity to improve when most thought it would be bad.

Even as the masses crawl from one headline problem to the next, the real surprise is the markets are setting up to reach all-time highs far sooner than most recognize. Even in this near two year "waiting period" or lunch stop as we like to call it - the earnings from companies have fallen just 2.7% from their peak. This is after the complete collapse of the earnings from the entire energy sector. Upside remains the surprise.

One would think that all-time highs would have rung in an enormous number of bulls. Indeed, that could not be farther from the case. Data show we now have 37 weeks in a row - and 70 out of last 71 weeks - showing lower bullish readings than normal. This registering at all-time new highs. Stunning.

Here we are - new highs. And almost no celebration. I think I saw two headlines. This is good news for long-term investors as fear remains deep-seeded. The longer that lasts, the healthier the markets can remain. No man's land - new highs - just like 1982 all over again.

Data are improving, jobs are solid, personal income rising, mountains of cash in the bank and we are in the midst of the early stages of the latest earnings season. By the end of Q3 data, we will have round-tripped most of the energy collapse and bad comps. Hinting that earnings projections are increasing. Soon, 2016 will be forgotten and 2017-2018 will be the focus - and they are rising. So is the GDPNow data.

The great lesson of markets. Those who can react the least and stay focused on the long-term, tend to see the best results. Sure some years stink...but that has always been the case. Too much data has everyone thinking there is an easy way to sidestep problems. In fact, problems are part of the trip - a required part - to get long-term results. Ask yourself this: Think of the wealthiest market-timer you know? Think long - there is not one. There are also no market-timers on Forbes 400....and there never has been. Stay focused and be patient with your planning processes.

In this episode we simply remind everyone that the "angst" (wasted) over Brexit will surely last for awhile, or until the media can find a new monster to tout. This one will serve us better in the US after all the dust has settled. Until then, stay focused on the Barbell Economy - it's working. And the summer haze has a bit more to go so let's stay patient. Listen in and let us know what you think.

As we all prep for a long weekend break which typically markets the middle of summer for kids out of school, the markets have almost completely recovered from the latest media-driven Armageddon: Brexit. At the end of the day, we expect more of the same: wasted fears, overblown risks, finely-defined ignorance and agreements in the EU which accomplish little and improve even less. Meanwhile, the US continues to strengthen while too many focus on yet another media darling. Stop acting like a moth to a flame. After all, we should know by now what usually happens to the moth.

Hard to believe but the second quarter has come to a close and half of 2016 is already behind us. Let's take it as a lesson: stop wasting time following the news, the media hype and the wasted-energy noise. Thinking in terms of lack has been a losing bet for decades. Bearish chatter is just that - chatter. Yes, there are tough parts of the pathway but the pathway is up a mountain over time. Don't waste another moment thinking in lack formation. Instead look at history and realize the abundance that awaits us here in the US. The Barbell Economy is real...stay focused on it, connect with it and ride the wave of massive change and upside ahead as Generation Y takes the baton - and drives us to places we cannot even imagine right now.

In this episode, we cover the reality of Brexit. Little will change - and much may get better. In any event, it will be years before it is done - hence the need to remain focused on Common Sense. History is fiulled with periods like we are dealing with noe - periods where too many sold first and asked quesitons later. Only to enter back into the markets at much higher prices when "the future was more clear." Trust us, the future is never clear. But that is ok - it never has been before either.

We are told when younger to count to 100 before we get angry or do something we might regret later. In a play on that topic, I have gotten to 168,477 in my counting as we wade through the wasted Brexit reactions and patiently suggest we look for opportunity in the hoped for summer swoon.

Yes, expect a second day of selling follow-through as the weekend heaped bad news onto all investors who were too busy at work to sell on Friday. We suspect this will be a second wave of sellers - once again overlooking the main driver of the US economy for the next 30-40 years. The good news? It is nothing at all to do with Brexit.

Oh Boy....another Apocalypse Now. We suspect sooner rather than later, this woo shall turn into an Apocalypse Later. Markets are doing what they are supposed to do during panics: they are transferring stock from the hands of short-term speculators who are often too impatient into the hands of long-term investors building assets on the cheap. How many times do we need to see this before we get control of our emotions. Summer swoons are good in the long-run.

So they did it! Brexit is real - or so we think. It will take years to actually be implemented. In this episode we cover the one issue you do not want to succumb to is panic. We have been through much worse - and all turned out fine. Stay patient.

As a play on words we blended Britain and wasted and got Brasted energy. The day of voting was setting up everyone for the results. People the world over were on pins and needles - for what? Something which falls under the "this too shall pas" category no matter the outcome.

The funny thing about the future is that it is impossible to predict yet the masses are constantly listening and reacting to a myriad of predictions from experts who are consistently wrong. Not sure what is worse - listening in the first place or continuing to listen after such a horrible record. Listen in here and let us know what you think.

The first real day of summer and here we are - bored stiff. Plenty to fret over with markets gyrating back and forth about the Fed hikes and Brexit. Those are the monsters of the day. They will pass - and soon be replaced by bigger, uglier more dangerous monsters - like always. Stay focused and don't get sucked into the constant flow of worry.

So many investors think that P/E's, rates, margins, earnings growth, PEG ratios and the constant growth of same are the key ingredients to successful portfolio decisions. If that were really the case, why then is everyone still so dissatisfied? Why then does the public get just 30% of what the market produces over long periods of time? The facts? Focus on people first - they drive markets and knowing when that pipeline of buyers is getting smaller or larger is vital to understanding where a company is headed. Just a Levi's and Honda motorcycles why their sales fell off a cliff. It's because their buying audience collapsed.

Along with being the previous largest generation of all time to hit the US economy, the Boomers also created more wealth than any other generation of our time. That wealth shift - along with the surging impact of Generation Y - the new largest generation to every hit our economy - is set to make for significant surprises ahead. Listen in and let us know what you think.