2018 and older

By almost all accounts the last large down turn in the economy (2007 -2009), commonly referred to today as the Great Recession, was caused by cheap and unlimited amounts of money for people who wanted to buy a house, and…

We all know the expression “fed up” as meaning someone who is unwilling to put up with something any longer. This past Thursday it was the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss equivalent of our Federal Reserve, which showed it was…

The start of each new year sees market strategists make their predictions on what and where to put your capital in order to make money in the next 12 months. We have been reading a lot of these research prognostications in…

2014 was, in many ways, a very difficult market for investors. I say that because on many days during the year the market, as measured by the Dow Jones average or the S&P 500, moved to ever higher levels. As…

The beginning of a new year is traditionally a time for reflection on recent events, the future, and possible resolutions for improvement.  The economic and market environment has changed substantially over the last five years. Back in early 2010, the…

Since 2009, Nicholas Hoffman & Company in conjunction with the Society of International Business Fellows (S.I.B.F.) has conducted an annual program in Cambridge, England called “Money & Responsibility.”  Each summer a small group of high school and college students from the…

I was riding in my car and listening to Bloomberg radio this week when I heard an advertisement for a mutual fund that was investing only in growth companies in Africa, an Africa Only Fund. As investors we have options as…

I am not a very patient person by nature, just ask my patient wife of 37 years. Here are some of our repeated family conversations: Me: “We’re going to be late, I’ll go start the car.”  Wife: “Be patient, we’re…

As market volatility returns some investors will seek a safe place for their cash. Since the 1980s money market mutual funds (MMFs) have been the “go to place” to park idle cash. I remember the great migration of funds from…

As I looked at the numbers in the market this past weekend there was very little that looked earth shattering. The markets have been well behaved as we wind down the year, and even the TV pundits are having a…