Elliott Farr, a former colleague of mine, was a leader in the Philadelphia investment community for many years. He spent most of his career at Girard Trust and at WH Newbold’s where he distinguished himself as a Value Investor.
Farr’s special genius was the ability to see what most others could not. Like a good puzzle master he could see and understand relationships that eluded others. My favorite description of his talent was as the man who could look at a painting that others had been admiring (perhaps for a long while) and suggest that it was upside down! Oh, suddenly everyone could see much better. Now they understood!
Farr’s special genius was the ability to see what most others could not. Like a good puzzle master he could see and understand relationships that eluded others. My favorite description of his talent was as the man who could look at a painting that others had been admiring (perhaps for a long while) and suggest that it was upside down! Oh, suddenly everyone could see much better. Now they understood!
17/06: Structural Adjustment
Are we prepared as a nation to undergo a change from spending to saving?
How else will we be able to navigate our way through the demographic time-bomb in our future?
If Baby-Boomers are to live comfortably in retirement with adequate income and health care it seems we must increase our saving. How else can we prepare?
Our current approach of saving little and spending more than we earn (both as families and nation) will leave us poorer in the future. As someone has pointed out elsewhere (Bill Bonner at the Daily Reckoning perhaps), a nation or a family cannot get wealthier by spending more.
The investment implications of this coming adjustment are murky in the short term but certain in the longer term. Our future will involve more saving which means less spending. The impact on our nation's businesses may well be significant when this change occurs.
Are we ready?
O. Sam Folin, CFA
June 17 2005
How else will we be able to navigate our way through the demographic time-bomb in our future?
If Baby-Boomers are to live comfortably in retirement with adequate income and health care it seems we must increase our saving. How else can we prepare?
Our current approach of saving little and spending more than we earn (both as families and nation) will leave us poorer in the future. As someone has pointed out elsewhere (Bill Bonner at the Daily Reckoning perhaps), a nation or a family cannot get wealthier by spending more.
The investment implications of this coming adjustment are murky in the short term but certain in the longer term. Our future will involve more saving which means less spending. The impact on our nation's businesses may well be significant when this change occurs.
Are we ready?
O. Sam Folin, CFA
June 17 2005
15/06: The Nero Effect
It is said that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. While there is apparently no proof of this assertion, Nero was deeply unpopular during his reign in first century Rome. He was thought to be self absorbed and selfish, attentive only to his own needs and those of his immediate cronies.
Can we draw a comparison to 21st Century United States?
Can we draw a comparison to 21st Century United States?
We are forecasting low returns in the US investment markets with significant volatility. Investors who spend 5% or more (of the value of their portfolio) each year and who have more than 40% in US equities may be at risk.
