The idea that you can win by losing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. In fact, most of you may consider this statement not only false, but a bit irrational to boot! Yet for those of us who are investing in a taxable account, the Federal Government, as well as most State and Local Governments will share in any capital losses you may experience from your activities in the securities markets. A tax-wise investor will use a technique known as tax loss harvesting to share those losses with the Government.
Remembering that your employee, Uncle Sam, shares your “investment business’s” gains and losses, gives you a powerful incentive to keep adequate records for proving to him the source and amount of any income he claims is his. In the past this required a lot of pencil pushing, but with the help of today’s computing power it has become a much simpler process. Most accounting programs include the ability for you to keep a record of your activities. At a minimum, you should be able to keep lot-by-lot prices of any purchases
Many of you have done everything right. You have worked hard, saved your money, paid taxes on your income annually and have set aside extra funds to take care of some special need in the future. Any earnings on these extra funds, just like the income you receive for your labor, are subject to taxation. Unlike income tax on labor, taxes on your investment account are treated similar to tax treatment of a business. Most businesses are acutely aware of the need to minimize taxation to maximize profit and have a staff full of experts to guide them t
Academics, economists and investment practitioners have published a virtual mountain of information on subjects such as building diversified portfolios, creating valuation models for markets and their components, attempting to understand and explain risk, possible anomalies to exploit, the implications of transaction costs and liquidity constraints, and the impact tax policies have on businesses, individuals and GDP. Financial advisors and consultants have spent a lifetime trying to find the best mutual funds and pension managers, the best annuities and insurance policies that will work f
A George Soros Week
Love him or hate him, but there is little doubt that George Soros through luck, guts and smarts has created more wealth than 99.99% of us. This wealth creating machine has never been one to share his secrets, yet enough of his thoughts have been released to the world that we can take the market moving events last week and envision Mr. Soros and his team having a fun time deciding if these few events will change the direction of the markets and create an opportunity for profit.
Our offices are located on the top floor of a bank building in old town Rock Hill. Nearly every day I find myself sharing the elevator with one or more of the resident bankers. Last week I struck up a conversation with one of the loan officers. With all the pressure on banks, especially the banks that received the TARP funds, I was curious about this banker's business. I could only fit in a single question during our shared elevator time, and it was; "Are loan applications increasing?" The answer was a quick and simple, no! In fact, my elevator partner added a c
I'm not sure when or where the traditional "top ten list" came about. But it is here and I suppose we will have to live with it for the rest of our lives. If I were to make a top ten list for our clients, it would probably be a compromise between one or two meaningful ideas, and the remaining slots being mostly filler. So I think I will start my own tradition and share with you a single best idea, a Top One List, an idea that can be used a lifetime and not discarded when the calendar rolls over to yet another year.
We would like to thank everyone for visiting Anderson Griggs Portfolio Management over the past year, and wish all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Our weekly commentaries will resume in January.
There are very few people in this world that are household names. In the world of bond investing, Bill Gross founder and Co-CIO of Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO) may just be one of those names. His Total Return Fund is available to thousands of individuals through their 401K plan and through just about every financial advisor on the planet. Along with CEO and Co-CIO Mohamed El-Erian they take responsibility for coining the term the "New Normal" to describe the world's economy over the next 20 years, a world in which growth prospects may be lower wh
In the world of professional investing, the position most sought for that very few obtain is that of portfolio manager. It is the position that offers the successful manager fame and fortune beyond their wildest dreams. It is also the position with the greatest failure rate in the industry. After all, a portfolio manager is the individual that ultimately makes each decision towards the construction and implementation of a portfolio, and is held accountable for every action taken, good or bad.
Anderson Griggs & Company, Inc., doing business as Anderson Griggs Portfolio Management is a registered investment adviser with the US Securities & Exchange Commission. Pursuant to laws and regulations Anderson Griggs also maintains notice filing with several individuals state regulators including North and South Carolina. Anderson Griggs only conducts business in states and locations where it is properly registered or meets state requirements for advisors. This commentary is for information purposes only and is not an offer of investment advice. We will only render advice after we deliver our Form ADV Part II to a client in an authorized jurisdiction and receive a properly executed investment Management Agreement. Any reference to performance is historical in nature and no assumption about future performance should be made based on the past performance of any Anderson Griggs Investment Objective, individual account, or index. The authors of publication are expressing general opinions and commentary. They are not attempting to provide legal, accounting, or specific advice to any individual concerning their personal situation. Anderson Griggs Portfolio Management's office is located at 113 E. Main St., Suite 310, Rock Hill, SC 29730. The local phone number is 803-324-5044 and nationally can be reached via its toll-free number 800-254-0874.