Every 10 years or so, Hollywood tries to latch onto the economic angst of the country with a comedy. Think of the Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd classic, “Trading Places,” which skewered the misplaced values of 1980s traders. Or “Fun with Dick and Jane,” which had Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni resorting to an escalating… Continue reading →

By now you’ve begun to notice a pattern in the news about hedge funds: Nobody is making money anymore, so managers are returning millions to disappointed investors. The latest to close is Eton Park Capital. But the decision by that fund’s managers is hot on the heels of epic losses by previously high-flying funds. A few… Continue reading →

Getting retirement right is a big deal. The data varies from survey to survey, but we know for a fact that far too many Americans have saved little (or nothing) and most of the rest of us probably haven’t saved enough. Fidelity Investments decided to tackle this problem with a short but in-depth survey based… Continue reading →

When will the world see its first trillionaire? A British charity estimates that it could happen within 25 years and that it will be none other than Microsoft Founder Bill Gates. Oxfam, the UK world hunger organization, meant to shame the world’s richest with its list of multi-billionaires. Which is odd considering that Gates is a… Continue reading →

As with much in the first weeks of the incoming Trump administration, there was an last-second move to delay regulations years in the making. In this case, the Department of Labor fiduciary rule. The last-ditch effort is likely to fail and not just because of legal action, although that is happening, too. No, it’s likely… Continue reading →

By now you’ve likely seen billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s latest effusive praise of Vanguard Group founder John Bogle. “If a statue is ever erected to honor the person who has done the most for American investors, the hands-down choice should be Jack Bogle,” Buffett wrote in his latest letter to investors in Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s… Continue reading →

Chris Arnold is a reporter with NPR who has a knack for explaining the complexities of investing in simple, plain English. In the ongoing fight for greater consumer protections, NPR produced a segment that highlights the intricacies of the fiduciary rule, and approached me for my “industry insider” opinion. It was my honor to speak about the… Continue reading →

Seth Klarman is one of the few hedge fund managers praised by Warren Buffett. His Boston-based Baupost Group is famously tight-lipped and extraordinarily successful, currently managing around $30 billion. That puts him on par with the endowments of schools such as Harvard and Yale. As it happens, my business partner Scott Puritz and I were… Continue reading →

Financial advisors should always act in your best interest. However, as of now, those who handle your hard earned retirement savings are not yet obligated by law to do so. With recent renewed interest in the U.S. Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule,” there is question of whether the rule, protecting American retirement accounts, will actually… Continue reading →