We employ portfolio construction techniques that allow us
to manage risk without sacrificing return potential.
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Authentic Investing
The true essence of investing is not what you hear from the financial media or in the marketing campaigns from large Wall Street firms. Aggressive trading and hot stock tips generally result in losses or sub-par investment gains. Rather, real investing is about discipline, patience, and smart, deliberate strategies. We strip away the hype and focus on what is real.
Straight Shooters
Armbrust is a German word meaning “crossbow”. In medieval times, an armbruster was an archer or soldier armed with a crossbow. We don’t find much use for crossbows in our current occupation, but just like our ancestors, we aim to be straight shooters in all our dealings.
News & Education
Tech Rally… Can It Continue? – Q2 2023 Newsletter
The stock market has had a stellar first half of the year. But that’s only true if you were in the right part of the market. The overall US stock market gained 17% so far this year. International stocks were up a solid, but much lower 12%. US small-cap stocks were up only 6%. And deep value stocks rose a paltry 1%. It was the proverbial tale of two markets. The best of times for some, but not so much for others.
Chris’s Corner: – Planning for Estate Taxes
Is it possible to have too much money? The answer is yes if the subject is estate taxes. Currently few of us have to worry about Federal estate taxes since the exemption is so high, but that is set to revert back to its former limit at the end of 2025. This means a reduction of approximately 50% from today’s generous level.
The Reemergence of Reinsurance – Q2 2023 Newsletter
Reinsurance funds, those that invest in relatively obscure catastrophe bonds and quota shares, have provided uninspiring returns over much of the past decade. From 2014 to 2022, the Swiss Re Cat Bond Index, which measures the returns of the catastrophe bond market, returned an annualized 3.7%, far below its long-term average of 6.8%. However, the cat bond market got off to a hot start in 2023. It returned 10.5% in the first half of the year, which is the index’s strongest start to the year in over 20 years.
Portfolio Review – Q2 2023 Newsletter
Stock market returns for the second quarter bear a striking resemblance to what occurred in the first quarter: US, international, and emerging market stocks were all positive, large-cap stocks outperformed their small-cap counterparts, developed international markets outpaced emerging markets, and most factor funds lagged behind the overall stock market. Technology, communications, and consumer discretionary sectors continued to lead the way by returning over 10% for the quarter and over 30% for the year-to-date period.
ACM VidCast – 2023 – Should I invest in gold?
The price of gold has been moving upward, hitting a new one-year high this month. So, is now the time to ask – Should I invest in gold or look for a better long-term investment?
Chris’s Corner: – Cash Management
For the past several years, it has been impossible to get any sort of return on cash balances. The Fed Funds rate was literally zero for a while, and banks, money market funds, and CDs all paid close to zero percent interest on cash balances. You could leave money in your bank account because there wasn’t much opportunity cost.
However, that has changed over the past year as the Fed has aggressively raised short-term interest rates.