http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com Most people never forget their first love. I'll never forget my first trading profit --- but the 600 1970 dollars I pocketed on Royal Dutch Petroleum was not nearly as significant as the conceptual realization it signaled. I was amazed that someone wou... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/making-a-volatile-stock-market-your-vbf-2381016.html 23rd October 2011 What if the US Government sold the Social Security system/employees/buildings/DEBT/etc. to Insurance/Annuity industry companies for the amount of the debt plus a few billion --- all in cash plus secured debt of the hundreds of companies involved in the pu... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/retire-social-security-debt-and-save-the-economy-2377535.html 18th October 2011 How much financial bloodshed is necessary before we realize that there is no safe and easy shortcut to investment success? When do we learn that most of our mistakes involve our very own greed, fear, and unrealistic expectations? Eventually, successful... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/five-filters-for-more-effective-stock-selection-2214534.html 06th May 2011 The Dow, Investment Grade Value Stocks, and Alternative Investments There are two extremely good reasons why your portfolio may not be "performing" (whatever that means) either as well as you would like or as well as your buddies say that they have bee... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/wall-street-most-wanted-a-new-blue-chip-market-indicator-2188494.html 14th April 2011 About a year ago this week, just before the one-year anniversary of this market rally, there were about 45 IGVSs priced 15% or more below their 52-week highs. The market seemed to be entering a corrective phase, but it just never happened. A year late... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/how-much-longer-can-this-wall-street-toga-party-last-2111400.html 13th March 2011 In addition to a well thought out investment plan, successful equity investing requires a feel for what is going on in the real world we refer to as "the market". To most investors, the DJIA provides all of the information they think they need, and they w... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/the-dow-jones-industrials--a-blue-chip-average-no-more-2091731.html 04th March 2011 "Hey 'Deep Pockets', what were you doing on October 19th, 1987", the Wall Street Jungle reporter asked? I was gritting my teeth, shaking more than just a little, palms sweaty but placing dozens of individual orders for the best NYSE, dividend-paying, c... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/need-a-gps-for-your-investment-portfolio-1988232.html 26th January 2011 After forty years of investing, a few things become clear: you need to focus on quality securities, diversify properly, and develop a lifetime supply of income. The investment puzzle becomes easier to solve if you have a handle on all the pieces. But i... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/income-investing-articles--an-anthology-1988231.html 26th January 2011 KIAWAH ISLAND, SC, December 13, 2010 Kiawah Golf Investment Seminars (an investment education enterprise located near the Kiawah Island Golf-Tennis-Beach resort) proudly reports estimated investment performance results for a sampling of Market Cycle Inves... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/mcim-portfolios-rally-to-threeyear-high-levels-1935034.html 06th January 2011 Whoa! Stop! Hang on a minute. There is absolutely nothing unusual going on in the income securities markets. There is nothing to be particularly concerned about or afraid of. Relax, take a few deep breaths, and read on. Falling income security prices a... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/income-investing-news-misinformation-and-opportunities-1905235.html 15th December 2010 At least ten hands shoot into the air as the discussion turns to stock selection. The speaker smiles, responds to each, and observes: "You really need to know the depth of the water, its temperature, tides, and currents before you dive into the river --- ... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/stock-selection--tools-and-rules-1891033.html 08th December 2010 In the recent financial crisis, a very small percentage of (I bought my house to live in) homeowners stopped paying on their mortgages. Still, the hysteria over the bursting housing bubble (i.e., lower market values) led to financial institution road-kill... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/ten-investment-risk-minimization-strategies-1703741.html 16th August 2010 Most people enter the investment arena thinking that "Risk" is a board game they played in college. Today, I would guess that the majority of investors have never owned an individual share of common stock or a Municipal Bond. The popularity of investm... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/basics-of-investing-cruise-control-hedging-1703732.html 16th August 2010 Most investors incorrectly think of "risk" as the possibility that the market value of a financial asset might fall below the amount that he or she has invested in the asset. OMG, how could this be happening! Think about it. The harboring of these misc... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/risk-the-essence-of-investing-1703730.html 16th August 2010 The first page of search engine research tells you that: "Investors use hedging strategies when they are unsure of what the market will do"--- isn't that always? Further along you learn that there are many different kinds of strategies, nearly all of whic... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-hedging-123-1668401.html 27th July 2010 A correction is a beautiful thing, simply the flip side of a rally, big or small. Theoretically, even technically I'm told, corrections adjust equity prices to their actual value or "support levels". In reality, it's much easier than that. Prices go d... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/stock-market-corrections-are-beautiful--shop-at-the-gap-1548806.html 14th May 2010 Many of the things you think you know about investing are part of a mythology designed to make you bounce around between investment products. Modern day "conventional wisdom" just isn't all that its cracked up to be. Concepts you worship are inaccurate; i... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/whats-your-investment-iq-1452685.html 17th March 2010 During every correction, I encourage investors to avoid the destructive inertia that results from trying to determine: how low can we go; how long will this last? Investors who add to their portfolios during downturns invariably experience higher market v... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/wall-street-wisdom-and-market-cycle-investment-management-1430262.html 04th March 2010 The results are in! Roughly 260 people took the time to respond to the income investing survey and I thank y'all very much for being so generous with your time. First, the generalizations: As you will recall, the survey included eight "mostly true" or ... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/income-investing-and-what-you-really-know-about-it--survey-results-1406148.html 19th February 2010 The Investment Grade Value Stock Index "Bargain Stock Monitor" clearly reflects the profit taking that hit the market late in January--- you and I have been harvesting our gains all along though. Right? Although there are nearly twice as many IGV stock... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/igvsi-bargain-stock-monitor--february-2010-1381469.html 08th February 2010 The IGVSI Bargain Stock Monitor clearly reflects the strength of this eleven-month-rallying stock market. In fact, the bargain monitor is sporting the best numbers ever recorded. No, this is not a "buy" signal. The numbers are telling you that most Inv... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/igvsi-bargain-stocks--are-there-any-left-1355526.html 20th January 2010 From the end of 1999 through the end of 2009, all of the popular Wall Street market performance measurement tools were in the red. The average bloodletting level of the DJIA, the S & P 500, and the NASDAQ was a disturbing-to-some minus nineteen percent. ... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/a-dismal-decade-no-way--market-cycle-investing-1337762.html 08th January 2010 During the past sixty years, most economic, market, and interest rate cycles have lasted from two to five years, peak-to-peak. Rarely have any of the cycle-tracking market indices moved in tandem, and none of the cycles are considered to be particularly p... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/the-market-cycle-investment-management-mcim-program-1328710.html 06th January 2010 Maybe it's the holiday season, or maybe it's just the rare sense of appreciation I felt when I noticed the missing number on the monthly invoice. An epiphany even! This company actually wanted, appreciated, and knew how to retain my business. Moments e... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/exceptional-business-service-awards--pay-it-forward-1293086.html 14th December 2009 A participant in the morning Working Capital Model (WCM) investment workshop observed: I've noticed that my account balances are returning to their (June 2007) levels. People are talking down the economy and the dollar. Is there any preemptive action I ne... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-retrospective--a-preemptive-portfolio-protection-strategy-1204783.html 28th October 2009 Actually, hindsight and the Investment Grade Value Stock Index (IGVSI) Bargain Level Monitor tell us that it died early in March 2009. More realistically, however, corrections don't die quite so abruptly. They are supplanted by rallies--- and vice versa. ... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/stock-market-correction-dead-1154564.html 06th October 2009 As impossible as it is to predict the future of the markets, it's relatively easy to anticipate what you are going to experience when you view your next brokerage account statement. Whether you go the discount route through Schwab, Ameritrade, Fidelity... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-performance-expectations-and-broker-account-statements-1076656.html 10th September 2009 You knew it the moment it left the club, that spark at contact when you catch it just right. You look up. It's just reaching the top of its climb--- and heading down right at the pin, a pin positioned left of center on the elevated green, much too close t... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/golf-and-investing-optimism-focus-and-education-1066647.html 04th September 2009 This is a real world situation that could impact each of you as professionals, investors, and friends of persons who could fall for such schemes. So please get angry about it! An envelope arrived yesterday from a worried investor (not a client of mine)... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-scam-alert-2009-spread-the-word-1035788.html 15th August 2009 The Investment Grade Value Stock Index is a barometer of a small but elite sector of the stock market. Some Investment Grade Value Stocks are included in all averages and indices, but even the Dow Jones Industrial Average includes several issues that are ... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-grade-value-stock-index-igvsi-soars-24-1023111.html 08th August 2009 Before Wall Street and the media combined to make investors think of calendar quarters as "short-term" and single years as "long-term", market cycles were used as true tests of investment strategies over the long haul. Bor-ing. There were four types o... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/hows-your-investment-portfolio-doing-seven-longterm-indicators-976459.html 11th July 2009 I think it was the immortal Ben Hogan who quipped: I can put "left" on the ball and I can put "right" on the ball--- "straight" is essentially an accident. Most amateur golfers would make a slightly different observation. We can hit the ball left or right... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/golf-and-investing-lessons-working-the-ball-960427.html 01st July 2009 Is it luck or skill that gets us to the goals and objectives we set for ourselves--- gimmicks and software programs or practice and understanding? How many golfers are still using the putter they started with decades ago at a nine-hole cow pasture? How ma... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/golf-and-investing-lessons-fundamentals-924134.html 10th June 2009 Benjamin Graham was an economist, financial analyst, and professional value investor. He was one of the first to advise investors to look beyond the media hype and confusion to find undervalued stocks that would become part of a diversified portfolio. ... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investing-and-golf-tin-cup-lessons-912439.html 03rd June 2009 The Working Capital Model (WCM) looks at investment performance differently, less emotionally, and without a whole lot of concern for short-term market value movements. Market value performance evaluation techniques are only used to analyze peak-to-peak m... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-performance-evaluation-reevaluated-part-two-876141.html 01st May 2009 It matters not what lines, numbers, indices, or gurus you worship, you just can't know for certain where the stock market is going or when it will change direction. Too much investor time and analytical effort is wasted trying to predict course correction... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-performance-evaluation-reevaluated-part-one-873441.html 29th April 2009 Every correction is the same, a normal downturn in one or more of the markets where we invest. There has never been a correction that has not proven to be an investment opportunity. You can be confident that governments around the world are not going to a... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/stock-market-corrections-are-beautiful-and-necessary-867595.html 23rd April 2009 The other day, with the market giving up about a third of its March gain in DJIA points, I went looking through my favorite market stats to see if any remaining profits could be pounced upon. Typically, profit possibilities can be identified quickly on NY... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/hedge-funds-an-under-the-radar-crisis-849818.html 08th April 2009 "The Big Takeover" by Matt Taibbi is probably the best article written to date explaining the financial crisis and how we got to where we are now. Taibbi's necessarily lengthy article explains the problems, names the "poipetrators", and exposes all of the... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/who-created-the-financial-crisis--how-and-why-840028.html 27th March 2009 Contrary to popular belief and Wall Street propaganda, investing is not a competitive event. Rather, it is a uniquely personal, goal-directed activity that individuals must organize and control for themselves. Too few appreciate that it is a long-term ent... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/investment-performance-expectations-wcm-fine-tuning-793295.html 20th February 2009 No investor should ever be surprised by the changes in market value that appear on his or her monthly brokerage account statements. In general, media noise throughout the month should lead to a feel for what has been going on and investors should understa... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/igvsi-performance-expectations--wcm-portfolios-781543.html 10th February 2009 One of the great things about being a professional investor is the opportunity one has to apply his or her long-term experience to the investment environment that is unfolding (or coming unglued) in the present. If nothing else, most successful investo... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/crisis-investing--a-threepronged-wcm-strategy-763015.html 21st January 2009 The Working Capital Model (WCM) is an historically new methodology, but with roots deeply imbedded in the building blocks of capitalism, and financial psychology--- if there actually is such a thing. The earliest forms of capitalism sprung from ancien... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/the-investment-gods-are-angry-754147.html 16th January 2009 Crash! The 2007 thru 2008 financial crisis halved 401(k), IRA, and Mutual Fund values in a matter of months. For many, retirement dates had to be pushed back; for others, new jobs had to be found. The tragic flaw? No income allocation in the investment pr... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/working-capital-investing--the-qdi-743815.html 08th January 2009 Most people enter the investment process tip first. They hear something, grab an idea from a popular blog, accept a Cramerism or some motley foolishness, and think that they are making investment decisions. Rarely, will the right-now, instant-gratificatio... http://steveselengut.articlealley.com/wcm-investing--the-process-737110.html 05th January 2009