Don’t Rearrange the Deck Furniture on a Sinking Titanic · Don’t simply rearrange the deck...
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I bought a very old copy of the St Louis Post-Dispatch from April 16, 1912, because I wanted to read the real accounts about the Titanic going down. It is fascinating how newspapers used to report on events. Even more interesting, were the old advertisements - what a hoot - example ‘Corsets 69 cents’! In reading this paper I came across a story (see below) where they held a meeting to protest the working conditions in the steel mills of the day. These Americans used to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week! Fast forward 102 years to today, and if you can find a job, then according to the government if you work 30 hours that qualifies as full-time employment. Could today’s acceptance of a shorter work week and more leisure time be taking a toll on American ingenuity and productivity? Could a lax attitude toward work be contributing to this current extended economic funk? One of my clients, to emphasize this issue of ‘attitude change’ over the years, told me about an old Bill Cosby skit where Bill said: “We used to walk uphill both ways to school, barefoot in 2 feet of snow, and when we got home at night we were so poor we ate dirt, and we felt fortunate to have dirt.” Another one of my clients said that our age group has a responsibility to ‘Set a good example’. Hard work and tough love help to develop noble character. Manners and unselfishness are to be admired not mocked. We all have a limited amount of time left on this planet, let’s not waste it. Get on your soap box and preach a positive message. Let’s see if collectively we can influence the work ethic and improve our community. I know, I know, this is a financial newsletter, so let me get to it. The stock market continues to irrationally race forward, even as P/E ratios approach record levels! Obamacare is giddy boasting of 7 million sign-ups, but didn’t they tell us 4 years ago that this would help 40 million uninsured people! Putin is flexing his ruthless (and oft photographed) military muscles, while at the very same time America is cutting our military budget! A jetliner disappears (be weary of third world air-traffic), there is another shooting on an ‘unarmed military base’ (oxymoron), and the Keystone XL pipeline from friendly neighbor Canada still hasn’t been approved after 6 years of study, as we continue to buy oil from inhospitable Venezuela! Have common sense and logic been abandoned? We need to make it easy to hire, build, and invest in America. For the above reasons and more, please take a more careful stance with your portfolio. We never know for sure when the stock market hits a peak, but we do know that we’re now into the 5th year of a undeterred bull run. It might be a good time to take some of your riskier investments off the table. Don’t simply rearrange the deck furniture on a sinking Titanic. As I write this my Detroit Tigers are off to another good start to the 2014 baseball season. I wrote a story last year about an investment strategy that I strongly recommend, and to explain it, I compared it to the Tigers playing baseball games. In a nutshell, the analogy goes like this: Someone wants to make a bet that the Tigers will lose 28 out of their next 30 games, and someone else is willing to take that bet. It is possible that the Tigers could lose that many games, but highly unlikely. I love this comparison, because these types of ‘bets’, in the financial world, are made several million times every day. The investment strategy that I suggest, that parallels this baseball example, is not designed to make big quick gains - it is designed to make small reasonable monthly profits. As many of you know, because you are already invested here, this monthly trading strategy has been consistently producing positive returns. No guarantees, but I like the odds. You can always ask me about this at [email protected] or you can use an old fashion ‘land line’ and call us at 742-1166. I read a new book last week, Pillar to the Sky. It’s an amazing story about building ‘an elevator’ made of carbon nanotubes. They build this nanotube pillar straight up 22,236 miles into space to geosynch! When I first heard about the concept of the book, I rolled my eyes in doubt, but then I read this facinating probable story. I would urge you to read the book and encourage you to have your grandchildren read it too (start them to thinking outside the box). There is another book that I previously endorsed, that I am rereading, called Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Yew was the first Prime Minister of Singapore and even though he is best remembered for his strict rules and uncompromising disciplined laws, he may be one of the most brilliant, most experienced, most even-handed, macro- thinking leaders to ever walk the earth. It is another book that will open your eyes and expand your mind. Steven N. Moerdyk www.MoerdykFinancial.com Securities offered through Center Street Securities, Inc. (CSS), a registered Broker-Dealer & member FINRA & SPIC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC (BCM), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Moerdyk Financial, Inc. and BCM are independent of CSS. May 2014 Don’t Rearrange the Deck Furniture on a Sinking Titanic
Transcript of Don’t Rearrange the Deck Furniture on a Sinking Titanic · Don’t simply rearrange the deck...
I bought a very old copy of the St Louis Post-Dispatch from April 16, 1912, because I wanted to read the real accounts about the Titanic going down. It is fascinating how newspapers used to report on events. Even more interesting, were the old advertisements - what a hoot - example ‘Corsets 69 cents’!
In reading this paper I came across a story (see below) where they held a meeting to protest the working conditions in the steel mills of the day. These Americans used to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week! Fast forward 102 years to today, and if you can find a job, then according to the government if you work 30 hours that qualifies as full-time employment. Could today’s acceptance of a shorter work week and more leisure time be taking a toll on American ingenuity and productivity? Could a lax attitude toward work be contributing to this current extended economic funk?
One of my clients, to emphasize this issue of ‘attitude change’ over the years, told me about an old Bill Cosby skit where Bill said: “We used to walk uphill both ways to school, barefoot in 2 feet of snow, and when we got home at night we were so poor we ate dirt, and we felt fortunate to have dirt.”
Another one of my clients said that our age group has a responsibility to ‘Set a good example’. Hard work and tough love help to develop noble character. Manners and unselfishness are to be admired not mocked.
We all have a limited amount of time left on this planet, let’s not waste it. Get on your soap box and preach a positive message. Let’s see if collectively we can influence the work ethic and improve our community.
I know, I know, this is a financial newsletter, so let me get to it. The stock market continues to irrationally race forward, even as P/E ratios approach record levels! Obamacare is giddy boasting of 7 million sign-ups, but didn’t they tell us 4 years ago that this would help 40 million uninsured people! Putin is flexing his ruthless (and oft photographed) military muscles, while at the very same time America is cutting our military budget! A jetliner disappears (be weary of third world air-traffic), there is another shooting on an ‘unarmed military base’ (oxymoron), and the Keystone XL pipeline from friendly neighbor Canada still hasn’t been approved after 6 years of study, as we continue to buy oil from inhospitable Venezuela! Have common sense and logic been abandoned? We need to make it easy to hire, build, and invest in America.
For the above reasons and more, please take a more careful stance with your portfolio. We never know for sure when the stock market hits a peak, but we do know that we’re now into the 5th year of a undeterred bull run. It might be a good time to take some of your riskier investments off the table. Don’t simply rearrange the deck furniture on a sinking Titanic.
As I write this my Detroit Tigers are off to another good start to the 2014 baseball season. I wrote a story last year about an investment strategy that I strongly recommend, and to explain it, I compared it to the Tigers playing baseball games. In a nutshell, the analogy goes like this: Someone wants to make a bet that the Tigers will lose 28 out of their next 30 games, and someone else is willing to take that bet. It is possible that the Tigers could lose that many games, but highly unlikely. I love this comparison, because these types of ‘bets’, in the financial world, are made several million times every day. The investment strategy that I suggest, that parallels this baseball example, is not designed to make big quick gains - it is designed to make small reasonable monthly profits. As many of you know, because you are already invested here, this monthly trading strategy has been consistently producing positive returns. No guarantees, but I like the odds. You can always ask me about this at [email protected] or you can use an old fashion ‘land line’ and call us at 742-1166.
I read a new book last week, Pillar to the Sky. It’s an amazing story about building ‘an elevator’ made of carbon nanotubes. They build this nanotube pillar straight up 22,236 miles into space to geosynch! When I first heard about the concept of the book, I rolled my eyes in doubt, but then I read this facinating probable story. I would urge you to read the book and encourage you to have your grandchildren read it too (start them to thinking outside the box).
There is another book that I previously endorsed, that I am rereading, called Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Yew was the first Prime Minister of Singapore and even though he is best remembered for his strict rules and uncompromising disciplined laws, he may be one of the most brilliant, most experienced, most even-handed, macro-thinking leaders to ever walk the earth. It is another book that will open your eyes and expand your mind.
Steven N. Moerdyk
www.MoerdykFinancial.comSecurities offered through Center Street Securities, Inc. (CSS), a registered Broker-Dealer & member FINRA & SPIC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC (BCM), an SEC
Registered Investment Advisor. Moerdyk Financial, Inc. and BCM are independent of CSS.
May 2014
Don’t Rearrange the Deck Furniture on a Sinking Titanic
Steve and Jimmy Moerdyk
Moerdyk Financial Inc. is a private independent firm that carries the licenses necessary to offer their clients a vast array of investments and financial products. From stocks and bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, managed portfolios, non-traded REITs and BDCs, to fixed and variable annuities, MLPs and more. Over the years, Moerdyk Financial Inc. has developed a straightforward no-nonsense reputation. Their unbiased investment advice is efficient and appreciated. They have helped hundreds of retired people to better understand the financial benefits from the old adage ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’. Their experienced guidance on income distribution and asset sustainability has earned them a respected advisory position among senior residents in the Grand Rapids community.President Steve Moerdyk met his wife Annie at Michigan State University. They were married in 1979 and reside on beautiful Lake Bella Vista in Rockford. They have two children, Carly 30, and Jimmy 24. Carly is Chief Resident (neurology) at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where she lives with her husband Kia. On February 12, 2012, Carly gave birth to the Moerdyk’s first grandchild Sammy.Vice President Jimmy Moerdyk joined the firm in 2011 after graduating from the Broad Business School at Michigan State University. Along with his youth and enthusiasm, he also brings a quick understanding of the latest in cutting edge technology and financial strategies.
Mrs Mary Russo in the gorgeous mink, and her son Joe, stopped in to teach us some Italian: “Ciao” (‘hello’) and then “Arrivederci” (‘goodbye’) “See Mary, I remembered!”
“What a difference a day can make!” Sunday in the pool with my grandson Sammy in Miami, and then 24 hours later on Monday night in Grand Rapids trying to find my car in the snow (and you wonder why I spend so much time down there with my grandson!)
Golf season has finally arrived. This is Rick Arpin, Kurt Hassberger, golf legend Jack VanEss, and me. Mr VanEss, even at 86 years old, beat me like a drum! He is an amazing athlete.
Someday we shall all stand before Him and give an account.
