Insights

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?

Fourth Quarter 2003|Jim Williams| Two years ago in this newsletter, I addressed the issue of fixed-income asset classes in the investment portfolio. At that time, as now, interest rates were quite low, and the prospects for rising interest rates seemed gathering if not imminent. Rising interest rates mean declining bond prices (the longer the duration of the bond, the greater the decline in price, more about this later). And with yields as low as they are now, it makes fixed income seem like a quite unattractive investment alternative. But let’s remember why we have fixed income in the portfolio.

Third Quarter 2003|Jim Williams| New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer is at it again. Good for him. You are probably aware of the latest scandal to hit the financial services industry related to after-hours trading of mutual funds (Janus, Strong, Bank of America/Nations, Bank One Group, Alliance). Why have none of the funds in your portfolio been named in any of these allegations? Is it because we had some special insight into the trading operations of the funds? No. Is it because we’re smarter than everyone else? No. Perhaps it has something to do with what we look at when we evaluate investment vehicles.

Second Quarter 2003|Jim Williams| A few weeks back, I met with my favorite Registered Dietician/Nutritionist for a personal nutrition assessment. Knowing that I am carrying a few (several?) pounds of fat around my middle, I expected to be exhorted to stop eating candy and junk food, and lose weight. However, I learned more importantly that I am deficient in lean body weight and the solution is to eat more than the minimum amount of protein. I find that I have to consume a lot of protein to reach my daily target, and doing that keeps me pretty full. Interestingly, by focusing on the positive: eat more protein rather than the negative: quit eating junk food, I effortlessly made some substantial changes in my personal nutrition. I think that what we do here at J. F. Williams Co., Inc. in financial advisory services is quite similar.

First Quarter 2003|Jim Williams| I learned a lesson last month. While I was engrossed in the news coverage of the war in Iraq, my spirits were alternatively lifted and then dashed. In the space of time between the first Tuesday, when the first strike took place, and Sunday night after several Americans had died or been captured, I went from being quite optimistic about the prospect that the war would be over in a few days, to down-in-the-depths apprehension that all of the predictions of a “quagmire” were about to come true. As I considered my own reactions to the news coverage, I started to wonder if there might be some lessons with regards to the similar onslaught of information which comes at us with respect to the financial markets.