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The Online Home of Author and Investor, Dick Young

Investing

Here’s How to Build Yourself a Barricade Against Volatility

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Back in October of 2006, as the crest of the Housing Bubble was forming, I remained doggedly attached to my principled investment strategy of diversification and compound interest. That month I encouraged readers to build a “volatility barricade.” Here’s what I wrote (with updated numbers to reflect the intervening years): Your Volatility Barricade Your portfolio’s […]

Like a Loaded Shotgun, Capital Protection is Your Best Defense

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The adage “defense wins championships,” is perhaps as true in investing and personal security as it is in football. There’s no better example than this year when, during Super Bowl LIII, the New England Patriots held the Los Angeles Rams to zero touchdowns, and only one field goal. Despite scoring only 13 points, the Patriots […]

High Barriers to Entry Make for Safer Investments

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I have written many times through the years about the benefits of businesses with high barriers to entry. Those barriers often include protection by government regulations, including rights of way, monopoly power, and intellectual property. In November of 1996 I explained the value of intellectual property and how difficult it is to generate. I wrote: […]

How to Avoid Wall Street’s Unshakable Attachment to Earnings

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Back in December of 1997, I explained Wall Street analysts’ fixation with earnings, and more specifically, earnings guidance. I wrote: Forget Wall Street’s Myopic Attachment to Quarterly Earnings It’s important for you to grasp the primary control force of short-term market action. The control force is quarterly earnings reports versus Wall Street projections. Companies that fail […]

Do You Have What it Takes to be a Great One?

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My son’s high school hockey team won their game the other night 7-1. In what can often be a tense ride home (dad’s you know what I mean) I was more relaxed talking about his play. One of his comments was “If we beat them 7-1 what are the other teams winning by that beat […]

What Are You Getting Paid?

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It’s a seemingly simple question, what are you getting paid? Most people can recall their weekly or monthly employment income without hesitation, but do you know what your portfolio is paying you quarterly? If you aren’t focused on generating income from your investment portfolio, you may want to adjust your strategy. In April 2006 I […]

When You Get OLD, Things Have to Be RIGHT

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It all started for Chuck Berry on 21 May 1955 with Chuck’s simple three-chord–Bb, Eb7, F7 (played in A by many guitarists for ease)–recording of Maybellene, an adaption of “Ida Red,” with Jerome Green on maracas, Johnnie Johnson on piano, Jasper Thomas on drums, and the legendary Willie Dixon on bass. By the end of […]

Build Your Investment Strategy for the Field of Play

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Are you a trader or speculator? Or are you long term investor saving for a comfortable retirement? What’s your field of play? In December of 2011 I wrote to readers explaining that each sport is dependent on the field of play. Coaches and players enter the game with a clear understanding of what they are […]