MannAdvisoryServices 

Thing One   Got Habits?   An article published on gobankingrates.com  included a list of the common habits of self-made millionaires. We’ve shared our favorites below:    They’re frugal.  This doesn’t mean they subsist on beans and rice and never splurge, but they do avoid impulse purchases and they know how much they spend each month on the basics.   They invest in stocks.  We’ve hit this point often in our newsletter and this article’s author agrees that “…investing in stoc

Thing One   To Delay Or Not To Delay Your Social Security Benefits, That Is The Question   The recent turmoil in the stock market along with shakier job prospects, longevity concerns, and fears of benefits cuts have many older Americans taking social security sooner than they might have otherwise.  Below is an excerpt from a Yahoo Finance written by Kerry Hannon, that can serve as a primer on the topic:   “…In my planning with clients, I try to keep emotion, political posturi

Thing One   Investing Lessons From An Old Fisherman   Long before I developed the bad habit of spoiling a good walk by bringing along golf clubs, I had developed a fondness for what can be an equally frustrating hobby, fishing.  Early on, I was so obsessed with the sport that I would spend Saturday mornings watching fishing shows on TV and Saturday afternoons in bait and tackle shops buying what the pros were using.  Then I’d spend Saturday evenings on the bank of a pond some

Thing One   An Investing History Lesson For Uncertain Times    Dennis Coughlin of Kipliger recently advised the following with respect to the volatile markets we are currently experiencing, “…Acknowledge the persistent nature of uncertainty. Markets have endured wars, recessions and regulatory changes throughout history. Investors who remain focused on long-term strategies rather than reacting to short-term disruptions may experience more sustainable outcomes over time…”   We

Thing One   What 10 Days Could Cost You   In volatile times like the ones, we are currently living through, some people make what seems to them to be a completely rational decision – they get out of the market.  The problem with getting out though is getting back in as the same anxiety that forces people to the sidelines often makes them reluctant to get reinvested.  And, as multiple studies have found, sitting on the sidelines for timing purposes can be quite costly.   In fa

Thing One   One Analyst’s Take On The Recent market Turmoil   The following is an excerpt from a newsletter from David Alton Clark of Seeking Alpha:   "...Here are the four key positives I see in the current market situation The Speculative Hype Has Eased The froth that once dominated the market has largely been removed. This means we are moving away from overvalued, speculative investments that were driven more by market sentiment than fundamentals. With this correction, we'

Wealth Is Knowledge   The title of this post was also the title of an insightful Wall Street Journal article.  Here is a thought-provoking excerpt from it:   ……….… "...I asked the author and economist George Gilder about wealth creation. “Wealth is most essentially knowledge,” Mr. Gilder says. “Let’s face it, the caveman had access to all the materials we have today. Therefore, economic growth is learning, manifested in ‘learning curves’ of collapsing costs driven by markets.

Thing One   “The Top” Of The Market Is All A Matter Of Perspective   Most of us are familiar with the buy low, sell high mantra.  It’s a reminder not to enthusiastically rush into the market and buy “overpriced” stocks only to get discouraged and sell them when their prices deflate.  This is good advice, but it needs context.  While there are certainly stocks whose prices “get ahead of their earnings”, there really is no such thing as the top of the market for a long-term inv

Thing One   A Reminder From Warren Buffett   Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has long emphasized a simple yet profound principle: bad news is an investor’s best friend. During a 2008 interview with CNBC, amid the chaos of the financial crisis, Buffett explained that downturns and uncertainty often create rare opportunities to buy exceptional businesses at bargain prices. His optimism wasn’t blind; it stemmed from a disciplined belief that

Thing One   Wealth Is Knowledge   The title of this post was also the title of an insightful Wall Street Journal article.  Here is a thought-provoking excerpt from it:   ……….… "...I asked the author and economist George Gilder about wealth creation. “Wealth is most essentially knowledge,” Mr. Gilder says. “Let’s face it, the caveman had access to all the materials we have today. Therefore, economic growth is learning, manifested in ‘learning curves’ of collapsing costs driven