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Greenspan's "Conundrum"

April 20, 2009 by Matt McCracken
If you watch or read any of the financial media outlets, you've heard of the "Flattening/Inverted Yield Curve". Greenspan has referred to it as a “Conundrum” since long-bond yields have fallen while he repeatedly increases the overnight Federal...Read more

The End (of Wall Street’s Boom) by Michael Lewis

December 9, 2008 by Matt McCracken
Michael Lewis recently wrote an article appearing in Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com titled The End which details the root cause of the credit crisis and the ensuing collapse of Wall Street firms like Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. It is a must read...Read more

INDEX INVESTING, PART I - THE BASICS

July 8, 2007 by Matt McCracken
Index Investing is a strategy that consists of investing in passively-managed mutual funds and/or ETFs that are designed to mimic a particular index (i.e. S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, Russell 2000). Typically, index fund advisors use one of three fund...Read more

INDEX INVESTING, PART II - ADVANTAGES OF INDEX INVESTING

July 7, 2007 by Matt McCracken
There are a large number of American financial advisors who are deeply committed to the idea that MPT is one of the greatest financial innovations in investing since the creation of the equity markets themselves. I refer to these Index fund advisors...Read more

INDEX INVESTING, PART III - DISADVANTAGES OF INDEX INVESTING

July 6, 2007 by Matt McCracken
While I believe that index investing has its merits, I do not believe that it is the only means of getting your investment compass to point true north. Advisors who buy into MPT fail to acknowledge the many issues with indexing – so allow me to...Read more

Breakdown in Quant Funds

September 5, 2006 by Matt McCracken
Market inflection points (tops and bottoms) are characterized by extreme irrationality on the part of investors. At The MAC, we track several indicators that measure how “irrational” the market is being. In June, these indicators turned decidedly...Read more

Index Annuities - The Dumbest Investment Ever?

July 8, 2006 by Matt McCracken
Not too long ago, I met with a prospective client who was considering investing a rather sizable chunk of his retirement into an equity indexed annuity. I wrote the following summary for him and I thought I'd share with others who might be...Read more

Delta Air Lines - A Personal Reflection!

September 25, 2005 by Matt McCracken
On September 14, 2005, 4 years and 3 days following 9/11 attacks, Delta Air Lines (DAL) entered into the equivalent of corporate jail and became wardens of the state/courts. Hopefully they will be granted parole soon. It was a very sad day in our...Read more

Delta Bankruptcy Commentary

September 21, 2005 by Matt McCracken
From a financial advisor’s perspective, the bankruptcy of DAL is just another ding in the armor of the American economy. Airline bankruptcy is certainly nothing new. Don’t we go threw this every couple of decades. When my dad joined Delta; Pan Am,...Read more