What Does It Take?

    Occasionally clients ask, how do I ever I keep up with all of the constantly changing data and conditions in my business, with all its mind-blowing complexity. 

    First of all, I like all the numbers and the changing patterns contained in them.  When I was a kid the teachers would cluck at me for being able to come up with the answers to math problems but not being able to tell them how I did it.  I’d just say, “it seemed like the right answer”, and it usually was.  I just have a head for numbers.  To me, a series of numbers has texture and pace.  It can tell me a story and hold my interest.   My wife, who teaches voice at Yavapai College has an ear for music that goes far beyond my understanding.  I nod politely when she begins to explain music, but I really don’t understand it at all.  She is the same way about some of the investment ideas I develop.

    One thing I do to develop this gift is I invest heavily in my business.  I spend over $100,000 per year on information, software and systems to implement my strategies that Adapt to Changing MarketsÒ.   That is above and beyond what I would spend to merely offer you buy-and-hold investments for a traditional brokerage account.

    Here is a list of some of the newsletters, articles and trade journals that I try to digest:  (Daily) Dow Theory Letters, Richard Russell; Systems and Forecasts by Gerald Appel and Dr. Marvin Appel;  Money Flow technical analysis newsletter; Morningstar Advisor.com newsletter; The Wall Street Journal.  

    (Weekly)  Investment News; John Mauldin’s Front Line Reports; The Street Smart Report, by Sy Harding of Asset Management Research, Inc.; Briefing.com newsletter; The Cabot Newsletter; Dogs of the Dow Updates; The Economist Magazine; U.S. News & World Report;  H2FC (Hydrogen Fuel Cell) Investor’s Newsletter; Planned Giving Design Center updates.

    (Monthly)  Asian Insight, by Paul Matthews of Matthews International Capital Management; The Advisors Newsletter; McClellan Market Report; Elliott Wave Financial Forecast; Investment Advisor Magazine; Registered Representative Magazine; Stark & Stark Compliance Updates; College for Financial Planning Bulletin; Edge Direct Newsletter; Flexible Plan Investments Update; Potomac Key Economic Indicators; Tiburon Research Papers; Wealth Management Letter; Journal of Financial Planning; Senior Market Advisor magazine; Page One Financial Newsletter; The Insurance Forum & Rating Compendium; Bloomberg Wealth Manager; Financial Advisor magazine and the Variable Product Specialist. 

    And then we do technical analysis (all of those charts and graphs that look like a foreign language to the uninitiated) with several specialized programs.  Perhaps what really makes it all doable is the program I wrote in 1998 that analyses daily over 70 segments of the market and tells me where the momentum is building and where it is waning, allowing us to focus on indicators in just a few areas instead of the entire market.  That’s all it takes me to be ready to Adapt to Changing MarketsÒ for my clients.

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Another Financial Strategy

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Good Stuff From the Grapevine

    The following was submitted by a reader of one of the newsletters I follow, and I thought it worthy to be passed along to my readers as well.  You may wish to pass it on, too.

    “On Monday night (July 22), Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo….. three thousand percent!

    So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so.  But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.  For example, if you had to buy a  prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only  cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20.  What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

    At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.”

    I thought I’d check this out, (this is Will writing again) so I went to the Costco site, (www.costco.com) where you can look up any drug, and get it's on-line price.  It says that the in-store prices are consistent with  the on-line prices.  I was amazed!  The generic drug I bought recently for $72 per 100 for at a chain pharmacy, was 19.95 at Costco-online!

    I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in.   Also, I do not own Costco stock in my personal accounts, nor have I bought it for clients in my managed accounts—although perhaps I should consider it.

Who ‘da thunk it?

    That the best golfer in the world would be black,  the most popular rapper in the world would be white, the tallest player in the NBA would be Chinese, that the French would be accusing Americans of being arrogant, and that the Germans actually would not want to go to war.    What’s this world coming to, anyway??