Second Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| One of the most persistent “sky is falling” stories threatening investor’s confidence in the capital markets is the notion that when baby boomers retire, they will liquidate their investments in the equities markets producing a downward spiral of declining prices and increasing redemptions leaving us boomers in a market meltdown with greatly diminished retirement resources.
First Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| Last quarter I aired some of my misgivings about the personal accounts proposal for Social Security system. My greatest concerns center around the potential for poor decisions, mischief and abuse. I expressed concern about the potential for government intrusion into the fundamental capital market decisions. These concerns remain, but I think they are outweighed by the potential benefits of private accounts.
Fourth Quarter 2004|Jim Williams| You are likely aware that there are changes coming to the Social Security system. In addition to the much discussed personal accounts, it is likely that benefits for future retirees (probably not current retirees) will be reduced a bit and deferred a bit. I guess that since I have been predicting this for several years, maybe I should take more credit for my abilities at prognostication. Hmmm.
Third Quarter 2004|Jim Williams| I’m sure that most readers of this newsletter know who (what) the SEC is (the Securities and Exchange Commission). I doubt that many know what (who) the FPA is (the Financial Planning Association), much less, why a three-letter association has filed suit against a three-letter government agency.
Second Quarter 2004|Jim Williams| In his column dated July 18, 2004, Jonathan Clements, who writes “Getting Going” in the Personal Finance section of the Wall Street Journal, suggests starting a serious conversation about money with your kids. You may feel some trepidation about approaching the topic, since in our society, conversations about money carry roughly the same taboos as do conversations about sex. But the conversation about money may be every bit as important as a conversation about sex.
First Quarter 2004|Jim Williams| Occasionally when money is available for addition to a portfolio, the question arises as to whether it is a good time to invest. Stocks have been going up for 4 full quarters. Is the run-up over? Are stocks overpriced? Where will the market go next year? Stocks have been going down for the last three years. Isn’t this the end of the world? Shouldn’t we be buying canned goods?