WaPo Columns

 

Whether this financial rule hurts you isn’t up to Trump — it’s up to you

  • Feb 6, 2017

Let’s avoid the guessing games. And remember, ‘sell everything’ is rarely good advice.

  • Dec 30, 2016

It’s not the holly nog or the holiday spending that you’ll most regret later. It’s the stock picking.

  • Dec 10, 2016

A smart guide to help you decide.

  • Nov 22, 2016

Despite a November surprise, economies and markets are just so much bigger than elected officials and campaigns.

  • Nov 11, 2016

In this election year, newspapers proved their worth to the public — but not investors.

  • Oct 22, 2016

Lots to consider: the millions to settle harrassment claims, talent retention, who will run Fox News and a graying audience.

  • Sep 10, 2016

12 books that provide durable insights into the thrills and pitfalls of the financial markets.

  • Aug 26, 2016

Did you panic? Or stick to your boring but reliable long-term strategy?

  • Jul 22, 2016

Markets are unpredictable and unforgiving. A boring, diversified portfolio will carry you through.

  • Jun 24, 2016

Stick with the guy who will keep you from acting on your insane and harebrained investing schemes

  • May 27, 2016

He reportedly died without one — an expensive and avoidable oversight, even if you are not a superstar.

  • Apr 30, 2016

What all investors can learn from Ronald Wayne, a lesser-known co-founder.

  • Apr 15, 2016

Enjoy the economic expansion. It will end — just not as soon as the doomsayers believe.

  • Apr 2, 2016

The investor’s best interests should come before those of the adviser. Wall Street wants to tell you otherwise.

  • Mar 19, 2016

It’s time to admit to mistakes from last year.

  • Feb 19, 2016

A list of favorite books from 2015, curated with the curious investor in mind.

  • Feb 6, 2016

Like sports fans, too many investors are Monday morning quarterbacks. Get a better game plan.

  • Jan 23, 2016

This is what markets do — they go up and down, sometimes violently. Don’t panic. Stick with a long-term strategy.

  • Jan 8, 2016

My holiday gift to you: Ideas to make you a better investor. (No stock picks, predictions or economic analysis!)

  • Dec 26, 2015

No! So it shouldn’t be hard to ignore the financial forecasters — who can’t see the future any better than you.

  • Nov 28, 2015

They have sophisticated tools, capital and inside information.You won’t win at their game. Here’s how to play your own.

  • Nov 6, 2015

There really is no such thing as a free lunch, especially where investments are concerned.

  • Oct 24, 2015

Just saying “no” to buying anything misses out on the best way to make intelligent financial decisions.

  • Sep 26, 2015

Everything you need to know about setting yourself up for epic failure could fit on a 4X6 index card.

  • Sep 12, 2015

Five things you can do now to get your financial house in order.

  • Aug 28, 2015

That means turn off the talking heads on financial TV and stop chasing the headlines with your money.

  • Aug 14, 2015

Most financial forecasts and predictions online are junk. Intelligent investors, ignore the noise.

  • Aug 1, 2015

Beware the money manager who chases the big headlines with your cash.

  • Jul 18, 2015

As Richard Thaler explains, investors behave against their own interests — but you can outsmart your brain

  • Jun 27, 2015

This isn’t a market call, but the best time to start planning is before markets become more stormy.

  • Jun 5, 2015

The recovery is not evenly distributed, and a few factors have a major influence on whether you feel it.

  • May 15, 2015

The Vermont gas station attendant who quietly accumulated a fortune.

  • Apr 25, 2015

It is impossible to make yourself hack-proof, but you can make yourself less vulnerable.

  • Apr 10, 2015

If a columnist writes about other people’s financial errors, he has to admit his own. Mea culpa.

  • Mar 21, 2015

Are stocks cheap — or overpriced? Knowing can help you know when and how to invest.

  • Mar 7, 2015

The immediate impact is negative, but the longer-term effects are more positive.

  • Feb 14, 2015

Not just Uber: Tech firms are uniquely poised to topple old, entrenched businesses in many industries

  • Jan 29, 2015

The media and Wall Street help drive a parade of money-losing tomfoolery that’s all just marketing.

  • Jan 16, 2015

Knowing when to seek help, and adhering to the old tenets of patience and discipline, can lead to success.

  • Dec 20, 2014

I have $100,000 that says this is a better portfolio than what Anthony Robbins is pushing.

  • Dec 6, 2014

Giancarlo Stanton’s baseball deal isn’t as much as it sounds like, and he still needs to budget and plan ahead.

  • Nov 21, 2014

These extended financial periods — some of which can last decades — come to define each market era.

  • Nov 7, 2014

This advice can be crucial for investors seeking help

  • Oct 25, 2014

The growth of superstar stocks is always marked by white-knuckled drops. Few have the nerve to hold on.

  • Oct 4, 2014

It turns out, writing about a subject is a good way to figure out where you stand on the issue.

  • Sep 19, 2014

The greatest market timer and the worst market timer fare about the same as the dollar-cost averager.

  • Aug 23, 2014

There are factors that can narrow the trader’s disadvantage, but capital gains taxes are still the big issue.

  • Aug 9, 2014

Traders pay a tax of 30 percent or more on short-term capital gains. Passive indexers come out ahead.

  • Jul 26, 2014

Barry Ritholtz offers the worst investing ideas he’s heard this year.

  • Jul 5, 2014

Here’s an easy way to figure out which talking heads know what they’re talking about.

  • Jun 13, 2014

Financial stress and bankruptcy are startlingly common for athletes once their playing careers come to an end.

  • May 31, 2014

Without knowing when the economic environment has really changed, expensive mistakes are made.

  • May 16, 2014

Look at the motivations of pundits, strategists and fund managers before making investment decisions.

  • May 3, 2014

You might think that after last year’s strong gains, the markets might be due for a breather, but . . .

  • Apr 19, 2014

Valuation is a tougher question than many realize, and analysts’ estimates are at best an informed guess.

  • Mar 22, 2014

You, your employer and your retirement plan’s investment managers have made a hash of it.

  • Mar 7, 2014

Wall Street sells the outcome-oriented approach. But over time, the process-oriented investor wins.

  • Feb 22, 2014

Rather than pretend mistakes never happened, I prefer to “own” them and learn from them.

  • Feb 8, 2014

Tech giant’s actions suggest that it very cognizant of the future — and potential threats to its core business.

  • Jan 24, 2014

The ups and downs of gold over the past 10 years can serve as an objective history lesson.

  • Jan 10, 2014

If you’ve resolved to get your financial life in order, here’s what you should do.

  • Dec 27, 2013

You should limit it to 2 or 3 percent. Otherwise, you are likely to miss the next bull market.

  • Dec 13, 2013

Media shopping reports, surveys, measures of foot traffic are pretty much meaningless.

  • Nov 29, 2013

Drop the forecasters, the wise men and the opinion mongers if you want to add value to the investing process.

  • Nov 15, 2013

Don’t be swayed by the glut of meaningless information that comes your way routinely.

  • Nov 1, 2013

The Nobel committee, in a fix, crafted an elegant solution to the problem posed by Fama’s more-recent work.

  • Oct 18, 2013

Regardless of your views of this law, approach the process objectively if you want to be a successful investor.

  • Oct 4, 2013

Although the collapse of the firm signaled an enduring financial crisis, Lehman didn’t cause the crisis.

  • Sep 21, 2013

Can the firm’s decline be attributed to an uninspired CEO? Is it a victim of its life cycle? Or is it something else?

  • Sep 6, 2013

Too many investors have portfolios worthy of the derisive term Goldman Sachs employees used for clients.

  • Aug 23, 2013

After a week at Camp Kotok, lessons gleaned on why economists aren’t always on the money.

  • Aug 9, 2013

When Wall Street spins a yarn, its emotional pitch drives sales.

  • Jul 26, 2013

With historically low interest rates starting to rise, United States could miss a golden opportunity to rebuild.

  • Jul 12, 2013

For those who disliked my advice for investors who missed stocks’ historic rally, here’s what I think you missed.

  • Jun 28, 2013

So, you missed the big market rally. How to begin to repair the damage?

  • Jun 14, 2013

Goldman Sachs will let you invest in funds that charge big fees and return relatively little. But why would you?

  • May 24, 2013

Brown and Vitter may have created a blueprint for moving policy forward in a divided Congress.

  • May 10, 2013

Getting more and more news from the social network is having significant repercussions for markets — and your money.

  • Apr 20, 2013

Dollar cost averaging and portfolio rebalancing will improve your returns — assuming you are disciplined.

  • Apr 5, 2013

Barry Ritholtz: Before you let short-term news affect your judgment about a stock, ask yourself these questions.

  • Mar 22, 2013

Profits and valuations are what matter to your investments, not Republicans and Democrats.

  • Mar 8, 2013

COLUMN | Self-deception is especially costly when it comes to investing.

  • Feb 23, 2013

COLUMN | My goal every year is to make a whole new set of errors, rather than repeating the same mistakes.

  • Feb 9, 2013

These 10 enlightening strategies could keep you from making some common investing errors.

  • Jan 25, 2013

Huge shifts have already taken place, and understanding what they are will help your financial planning.

  • Jan 12, 2013

COLUMN | Many debunked theories and policies still have a vice grip on amateurs and professionals alike.

  • Dec 15, 2012

COLUMN | Other factors are weighing much more on equity markets than the ‘fiscal cliff’ talks.

  • Dec 1, 2012

COLUMN | Whenever there is a momentous event with winners and losers, you can take away lessons.

  • Nov 10, 2012

COLUMN: Knowing yourself and admitting your mistakes can help you avoid becoming your own worst enemy.

  • Oct 12, 2012

COLUMN | Sometimes you have an embarrassment of riches to select from; other times you are choosing the “least-worst“ option.

  • Sep 28, 2012

COLUMN | Ten inviolable rules for dealing with the sharks on the Street.

  • Aug 31, 2012

Lots of folks are wondering what happened to the Main Street mom and pop, retail investor. They seem to have taken their ball and gone home. It might be instructive to figure out why.

  • Aug 17, 2012

The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 didn’t cause the financial crisis, but that and the push for deregulation made it worse.

  • Aug 4, 2012

Given recent low, low yields, perhaps it is time to revisit some of the basics about owning bonds, bond funds and ETFs. We can also explore what alternatives exist regarding yield and generating income.

  • Jul 20, 2012

QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REVIEW | Here are the top 10 errors you might be making with your money. Fix your strategy now — before the next storm hits.

  • Jul 11, 2012

COLUMN | Anyone complaining about a lack of certainty reveals how little they understand about the topic.

  • Jul 7, 2012

Bankers have belatedly taken a closer look at internal procedures for handling defaulted mortgages.

  • Jun 23, 2012

Our columnist slips off into the near future in his time machine to find that a simple FDIC rule change took taxpayers off the hook for banks’ risky bets and made the financial system safer.

  • Jun 1, 2012

One thing that makes the JPMorgan trade look especially foolish is that it’s nearly the same sort of recklessness that AIG exhibited: selling derivatives against zero reserves.

  • May 19, 2012

Q&A | The Post’s business editors turned to our investment columnist Barry Ritholtz for some plain talk on the stock sale.

  • May 16, 2012

Policy wonks and closet indexers are among the active fund managers you might do well to steer clear of.

  • May 4, 2012

If you want to grasp why America is not doomed, you must spend some time with its young entrepreneurs.

  • Apr 22, 2012

Stories of a recovery in the real estate market are a rite of spring, but columnist remains skeptical.

  • Apr 7, 2012

Apple’s plan to institute a dividend and buy back stock won’t much dent its cash pile. What should the company do? Buy Twitter.

  • Mar 24, 2012

COLUMN | Nation’s ordeal reveals yet another reason why the policies should be regulated as insurance.

  • Mar 10, 2012

The foreclosure settlement is an epic failure of law and a triumph for bank attorneys.

  • Feb 25, 2012

Far fewer users flock to the social media site than claimed. Its $100B valuation may be just as overstated.

  • Feb 11, 2012

Four years after the great financial collapse, three years after the recovery began and in the last year of President Obama’s term, the president has finally decided to investigate the role of fraud in the great global financial crisis.

  • Jan 28, 2012

Markets do not rally or sell off because one candidate or the other is more likely to win.

  • Jan 14, 2012

What’s an investor to do in 2012? Start by ignoring lists.

  • Dec 30, 2011

It doesn’t seem like any of our holiday wishes have been granted over the past decade.

  • Dec 23, 2011

The most troubling aspect of the firm’s demise? That the activities that led to its collapse were possibly legal.

  • Dec 17, 2011

Surveys of shoppers suggested that holiday retail sales climbed 16 percent from last year. They did not; it was hype.

  • Dec 3, 2011

COLUMN | The best way to dispel the Big Lie about its cause is to see how the data stack up

  • Nov 19, 2011

Rather than admit the error of their ways, those who helped cause the financial crisis are engaged in an active campaign to rewrite history.

  • Nov 5, 2011

If you travel overseas, you can see how disgraceful the U.S. infrastructure is — and one reason for our economic struggles. Here’s what we need to do:

  • Oct 22, 2011

There is an unfocused financial rage finding its voice with Occupy Wall Street. Here’s how the movement can find focus and accomplish important goals.

  • Oct 17, 2011

If your business involves the use of leveraged capital for speculation by your employees, then it is your job to know which, if any, of your people are not competent.

  • Sep 24, 2011

The range of investors’ opinions affects their outlooks about earnings and prices, and what they’re willing to pay in the markets.

  • Sep 10, 2011

COLUMN | Ignored in the avalanche of Steve Jobs coverage is the crushing effect his firm has had on competitors.

  • Sep 3, 2011

COLUMN | Banking system needs more than massive injections of liquidity, which only temporarily help.

  • Aug 27, 2011

Investors smacked by big market swings this past week should remember: The trend is your friend until that nasty bend at the end.

  • Aug 19, 2011

Nation’s central bank painted itself into a corner in its mishandling of interest rates after dot-com crash.

  • Aug 13, 2011

COLUMN | After last week’s tumult, will investors finally be inspired to adjust their risk parameters?

  • Aug 6, 2011

We’ve got some prolonged challenges: ongoing debt issues, unemployment, a housing overhang and economic frailty.

  • Jul 29, 2011

Why have analysts and economists on Wall Street gotten the recovery so wrong? Most are looking at the wrong data set, using the post-WWII recession recoveries as their frame of reference.

  • Jul 16, 2011

Happy birthday, America. But at 235 years old, you’re flabby, creaky and easily led astray. Take some tips from some other countries.

  • Jul 1, 2011

There are surprising insights to be gleaned from the experiences of the very wealthy regarding their investments and experience with wealth.

  • Jun 17, 2011

The Armageddon forecasters are a hardy breed. But they’re never right.

  • Jun 4, 2011

Great investors are savvy generalists, people conversant in about five fields of endeavor that are hugely helpful to asset management.

  • May 21, 2011

This question involves huge sums of money. Ninety million individuals in the United States have $12 trillion invested in mutual funds. In terms of saving for retirement, mutual funds holdings account for 54 percent of 401(k)s and 47 percent of IRAs (in dollar terms).

  • May 8, 2011

To help you wrap your head around the value of a dollar, it helps to look at five factors.

  • Apr 23, 2011

Anticipating (versus reacting to) the next black swan: What you should know and what do before the next financial disruption.

  • Apr 2, 2011

We need to make the executives personally liable for their own reckless bets if we really want to remove the risk for taxpayers. And that means giving shareholders, boards of directors and regulators the ability to “clawback” past gains when new speculations go horribly wrong.

  • Mar 12, 2011

Stick with the guy who will keep you from acting on your insane and harebrained investing schemes

  • May 27, 2016

He reportedly died without one — an expensive and avoidable oversight, even if you are not a superstar.

  • Apr 30, 2016

What all investors can learn from Ronald Wayne, a lesser-known co-founder.

  • Apr 15, 2016

Enjoy the economic expansion. It will end — just not as soon as the doomsayers believe.

  • Apr 2, 2016

The investor’s best interests should come before those of the adviser. Wall Street wants to tell you otherwise.

  • Mar 19, 2016

It’s time to admit to mistakes from last year.

  • Feb 19, 2016

A list of favorite books from 2015, curated with the curious investor in mind.

  • Feb 6, 2016

Like sports fans, too many investors are Monday morning quarterbacks. Get a better game plan.

  • Jan 23, 2016

This is what markets do — they go up and down, sometimes violently. Don’t panic. Stick with a long-term strategy.

  • Jan 8, 2016

My holiday gift to you: Ideas to make you a better investor. (No stock picks, predictions or economic analysis!)

  • Dec 26, 2015

No! So it shouldn’t be hard to ignore the financial forecasters — who can’t see the future any better than you.

  • Nov 28, 2015

They have sophisticated tools, capital and inside information.You won’t win at their game. Here’s how to play your own.

  • Nov 6, 2015

There really is no such thing as a free lunch, especially where investments are concerned.

  • Oct 24, 2015

Just saying “no” to buying anything misses out on the best way to make intelligent financial decisions.

  • Sep 26, 2015

Everything you need to know about setting yourself up for epic failure could fit on a 4X6 index card.

  • Sep 12, 2015

Five things you can do now to get your financial house in order.

  • Aug 28, 2015

That means turn off the talking heads on financial TV and stop chasing the headlines with your money.

  • Aug 14, 2015

Most financial forecasts and predictions online are junk. Intelligent investors, ignore the noise.

  • Aug 1, 2015

Beware the money manager who chases the big headlines with your cash.

  • Jul 18, 2015

As Richard Thaler explains, investors behave against their own interests — but you can outsmart your brain

  • Jun 27, 2015

This isn’t a market call, but the best time to start planning is before markets become more stormy.

  • Jun 5, 2015

The recovery is not evenly distributed, and a few factors have a major influence on whether you feel it.

  • May 15, 2015

The Vermont gas station attendant who quietly accumulated a fortune.

  • Apr 25, 2015

It is impossible to make yourself hack-proof, but you can make yourself less vulnerable.

  • Apr 10, 2015

If a columnist writes about other people’s financial errors, he has to admit his own. Mea culpa.

  • Mar 21, 2015

Are stocks cheap — or overpriced? Knowing can help you know when and how to invest.

  • Mar 7, 2015

The immediate impact is negative, but the longer-term effects are more positive.

  • Feb 14, 2015

Not just Uber: Tech firms are uniquely poised to topple old, entrenched businesses in many industries

  • Jan 29, 2015

The media and Wall Street help drive a parade of money-losing tomfoolery that’s all just marketing.

  • Jan 16, 2015

Knowing when to seek help, and adhering to the old tenets of patience and discipline, can lead to success.

  • Dec 20, 2014

I have $100,000 that says this is a better portfolio than what Anthony Robbins is pushing.

  • Dec 6, 2014

Giancarlo Stanton’s baseball deal isn’t as much as it sounds like, and he still needs to budget and plan ahead.

  • Nov 21, 2014

These extended financial periods — some of which can last decades — come to define each market era.

  • Nov 7, 2014

This advice can be crucial for investors seeking help

  • Oct 25, 2014

The growth of superstar stocks is always marked by white-knuckled drops. Few have the nerve to hold on.

  • Oct 4, 2014

It turns out, writing about a subject is a good way to figure out where you stand on the issue.

  • Sep 19, 2014

The greatest market timer and the worst market timer fare about the same as the dollar-cost averager.

  • Aug 23, 2014

There are factors that can narrow the trader’s disadvantage, but capital gains taxes are still the big issue.

  • Aug 9, 2014

Traders pay a tax of 30 percent or more on short-term capital gains. Passive indexers come out ahead.

  • Jul 26, 2014

Barry Ritholtz offers the worst investing ideas he’s heard this year.

  • Jul 5, 2014

Here’s an easy way to figure out which talking heads know what they’re talking about.

  • Jun 13, 2014

Financial stress and bankruptcy are startlingly common for athletes once their playing careers come to an end.

  • May 31, 2014

Without knowing when the economic environment has really changed, expensive mistakes are made.

  • May 16, 2014

Look at the motivations of pundits, strategists and fund managers before making investment decisions.

  • May 3, 2014

You might think that after last year’s strong gains, the markets might be due for a breather, but . . .

  • Apr 19, 2014

Valuation is a tougher question than many realize, and analysts’ estimates are at best an informed guess.

  • Mar 22, 2014

You, your employer and your retirement plan’s investment managers have made a hash of it.

  • Mar 7, 2014

Wall Street sells the outcome-oriented approach. But over time, the process-oriented investor wins.

  • Feb 22, 2014

Rather than pretend mistakes never happened, I prefer to “own” them and learn from them.

  • Feb 8, 2014

Tech giant’s actions suggest that it very cognizant of the future — and potential threats to its core business.

  • Jan 24, 2014

The ups and downs of gold over the past 10 years can serve as an objective history lesson.

  • Jan 10, 2014

If you’ve resolved to get your financial life in order, here’s what you should do.

  • Dec 27, 2013

You should limit it to 2 or 3 percent. Otherwise, you are likely to miss the next bull market.

  • Dec 13, 2013

Media shopping reports, surveys, measures of foot traffic are pretty much meaningless.

  • Nov 29, 2013

Drop the forecasters, the wise men and the opinion mongers if you want to add value to the investing process.

  • Nov 15, 2013

Don’t be swayed by the glut of meaningless information that comes your way routinely.

  • Nov 1, 2013

The Nobel committee, in a fix, crafted an elegant solution to the problem posed by Fama’s more-recent work.

  • Oct 18, 2013

Regardless of your views of this law, approach the process objectively if you want to be a successful investor.

  • Oct 4, 2013

Although the collapse of the firm signaled an enduring financial crisis, Lehman didn’t cause the crisis.

  • Sep 21, 2013

Can the firm’s decline be attributed to an uninspired CEO? Is it a victim of its life cycle? Or is it something else?

  • Sep 6, 2013

Too many investors have portfolios worthy of the derisive term Goldman Sachs employees used for clients.

  • Aug 23, 2013

After a week at Camp Kotok, lessons gleaned on why economists aren’t always on the money.

  • Aug 9, 2013

When Wall Street spins a yarn, its emotional pitch drives sales.

  • Jul 26, 2013

With historically low interest rates starting to rise, United States could miss a golden opportunity to rebuild.

  • Jul 12, 2013

For those who disliked my advice for investors who missed stocks’ historic rally, here’s what I think you missed.

  • Jun 28, 2013

So, you missed the big market rally. How to begin to repair the damage?

  • Jun 14, 2013

Goldman Sachs will let you invest in funds that charge big fees and return relatively little. But why would you?

  • May 24, 2013

Brown and Vitter may have created a blueprint for moving policy forward in a divided Congress.

  • May 10, 2013

Getting more and more news from the social network is having significant repercussions for markets — and your money.

  • Apr 20, 2013

Dollar cost averaging and portfolio rebalancing will improve your returns — assuming you are disciplined.

  • Apr 5, 2013

Barry Ritholtz: Before you let short-term news affect your judgment about a stock, ask yourself these questions.

  • Mar 22, 2013

Profits and valuations are what matter to your investments, not Republicans and Democrats.

  • Mar 8, 2013

COLUMN | Self-deception is especially costly when it comes to investing.

  • Feb 23, 2013

COLUMN | My goal every year is to make a whole new set of errors, rather than repeating the same mistakes.

  • Feb 9, 2013

These 10 enlightening strategies could keep you from making some common investing errors.

  • Jan 25, 2013

Huge shifts have already taken place, and understanding what they are will help your financial planning.

  • Jan 12, 2013

COLUMN | Many debunked theories and policies still have a vice grip on amateurs and professionals alike.

  • Dec 15, 2012

COLUMN | Other factors are weighing much more on equity markets than the ‘fiscal cliff’ talks.

  • Dec 1, 2012

COLUMN | Whenever there is a momentous event with winners and losers, you can take away lessons.

  • Nov 10, 2012

COLUMN: Knowing yourself and admitting your mistakes can help you avoid becoming your own worst enemy.

  • Oct 12, 2012

COLUMN | Sometimes you have an embarrassment of riches to select from; other times you are choosing the “least-worst“ option.

  • Sep 28, 2012

COLUMN | Ten inviolable rules for dealing with the sharks on the Street.

  • Aug 31, 2012

Lots of folks are wondering what happened to the Main Street mom and pop, retail investor. They seem to have taken their ball and gone home. It might be instructive to figure out why.

  • Aug 17, 2012

The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 didn’t cause the financial crisis, but that and the push for deregulation made it worse.

  • Aug 4, 2012

Given recent low, low yields, perhaps it is time to revisit some of the basics about owning bonds, bond funds and ETFs. We can also explore what alternatives exist regarding yield and generating income.

  • Jul 20, 2012

QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REVIEW | Here are the top 10 errors you might be making with your money. Fix your strategy now — before the next storm hits.

  • Jul 11, 2012

COLUMN | Anyone complaining about a lack of certainty reveals how little they understand about the topic.

  • Jul 7, 2012

Bankers have belatedly taken a closer look at internal procedures for handling defaulted mortgages.

  • Jun 23, 2012

Our columnist slips off into the near future in his time machine to find that a simple FDIC rule change took taxpayers off the hook for banks’ risky bets and made the financial system safer.

  • Jun 1, 2012

One thing that makes the JPMorgan trade look especially foolish is that it’s nearly the same sort of recklessness that AIG exhibited: selling derivatives against zero reserves.

  • May 19, 2012

Q&A | The Post’s business editors turned to our investment columnist Barry Ritholtz for some plain talk on the stock sale.

  • May 16, 2012

Policy wonks and closet indexers are among the active fund managers you might do well to steer clear of.

  • May 4, 2012

If you want to grasp why America is not doomed, you must spend some time with its young entrepreneurs.

  • Apr 22, 2012

Stories of a recovery in the real estate market are a rite of spring, but columnist remains skeptical.

  • Apr 7, 2012

Apple’s plan to institute a dividend and buy back stock won’t much dent its cash pile. What should the company do? Buy Twitter.

  • Mar 24, 2012

COLUMN | Nation’s ordeal reveals yet another reason why the policies should be regulated as insurance.

  • Mar 10, 2012

The foreclosure settlement is an epic failure of law and a triumph for bank attorneys.

  • Feb 25, 2012

Far fewer users flock to the social media site than claimed. Its $100B valuation may be just as overstated.

  • Feb 11, 2012

Four years after the great financial collapse, three years after the recovery began and in the last year of President Obama’s term, the president has finally decided to investigate the role of fraud in the great global financial crisis.

  • Jan 28, 2012

Markets do not rally or sell off because one candidate or the other is more likely to win.

  • Jan 14, 2012

What’s an investor to do in 2012? Start by ignoring lists.

  • Dec 30, 2011

It doesn’t seem like any of our holiday wishes have been granted over the past decade.

  • Dec 23, 2011

The most troubling aspect of the firm’s demise? That the activities that led to its collapse were possibly legal.

  • Dec 17, 2011

Surveys of shoppers suggested that holiday retail sales climbed 16 percent from last year. They did not; it was hype.

  • Dec 3, 2011

COLUMN | The best way to dispel the Big Lie about its cause is to see how the data stack up

  • Nov 19, 2011

Rather than admit the error of their ways, those who helped cause the financial crisis are engaged in an active campaign to rewrite history.

  • Nov 5, 2011

If you travel overseas, you can see how disgraceful the U.S. infrastructure is — and one reason for our economic struggles. Here’s what we need to do:

  • Oct 22, 2011

There is an unfocused financial rage finding its voice with Occupy Wall Street. Here’s how the movement can find focus and accomplish important goals.

  • Oct 17, 2011

If your business involves the use of leveraged capital for speculation by your employees, then it is your job to know which, if any, of your people are not competent.

  • Sep 24, 2011

The range of investors’ opinions affects their outlooks about earnings and prices, and what they’re willing to pay in the markets.

  • Sep 10, 2011

COLUMN | Ignored in the avalanche of Steve Jobs coverage is the crushing effect his firm has had on competitors.

  • Sep 3, 2011

COLUMN | Banking system needs more than massive injections of liquidity, which only temporarily help.

  • Aug 27, 2011

Investors smacked by big market swings this past week should remember: The trend is your friend until that nasty bend at the end.

  • Aug 19, 2011

Nation’s central bank painted itself into a corner in its mishandling of interest rates after dot-com crash.

  • Aug 13, 2011

COLUMN | After last week’s tumult, will investors finally be inspired to adjust their risk parameters?

  • Aug 6, 2011

We’ve got some prolonged challenges: ongoing debt issues, unemployment, a housing overhang and economic frailty.

  • Jul 29, 2011

Why have analysts and economists on Wall Street gotten the recovery so wrong? Most are looking at the wrong data set, using the post-WWII recession recoveries as their frame of reference.

  • Jul 16, 2011

Happy birthday, America. But at 235 years old, you’re flabby, creaky and easily led astray. Take some tips from some other countries.

  • Jul 1, 2011

There are surprising insights to be gleaned from the experiences of the very wealthy regarding their investments and experience with wealth.

  • Jun 17, 2011

The Armageddon forecasters are a hardy breed. But they’re never right.

  • Jun 4, 2011

Great investors are savvy generalists, people conversant in about five fields of endeavor that are hugely helpful to asset management.

  • May 21, 2011

This question involves huge sums of money. Ninety million individuals in the United States have $12 trillion invested in mutual funds. In terms of saving for retirement, mutual funds holdings account for 54 percent of 401(k)s and 47 percent of IRAs (in dollar terms).

  • May 8, 2011

To help you wrap your head around the value of a dollar, it helps to look at five factors.

  • Apr 23, 2011

Anticipating (versus reacting to) the next black swan: What you should know and what do before the next financial disruption.

  • Apr 2, 2011

We need to make the executives personally liable for their own reckless bets if we really want to remove the risk for taxpayers. And that means giving shareholders, boards of directors and regulators the ability to “clawback” past gains when new speculations go horribly wrong.

  • Mar 12, 2011

Stick with the guy who will keep you from acting on your insane and harebrained investing schemes

  • May 27, 2016

He reportedly died without one — an expensive and avoidable oversight, even if you are not a superstar.

  • Apr 30, 2016

What all investors can learn from Ronald Wayne, a lesser-known co-founder.

  • Apr 15, 2016

Enjoy the economic expansion. It will end — just not as soon as the doomsayers believe.

  • Apr 2, 2016

The investor’s best interests should come before those of the adviser. Wall Street wants to tell you otherwise.

  • Mar 19, 2016

It’s time to admit to mistakes from last year.

  • Feb 19, 2016

A list of favorite books from 2015, curated with the curious investor in mind.

  • Feb 6, 2016

Like sports fans, too many investors are Monday morning quarterbacks. Get a better game plan.

  • Jan 23, 2016

This is what markets do — they go up and down, sometimes violently. Don’t panic. Stick with a long-term strategy.

  • Jan 8, 2016

My holiday gift to you: Ideas to make you a better investor. (No stock picks, predictions or economic analysis!)

  • Dec 26, 2015

No! So it shouldn’t be hard to ignore the financial forecasters — who can’t see the future any better than you.

  • Nov 28, 2015

They have sophisticated tools, capital and inside information.You won’t win at their game. Here’s how to play your own.

  • Nov 6, 2015

There really is no such thing as a free lunch, especially where investments are concerned.

  • Oct 24, 2015

Just saying “no” to buying anything misses out on the best way to make intelligent financial decisions.

  • Sep 26, 2015

Everything you need to know about setting yourself up for epic failure could fit on a 4X6 index card.

  • Sep 12, 2015

Five things you can do now to get your financial house in order.

  • Aug 28, 2015

That means turn off the talking heads on financial TV and stop chasing the headlines with your money.

  • Aug 14, 2015

Most financial forecasts and predictions online are junk. Intelligent investors, ignore the noise.

  • Aug 1, 2015

Beware the money manager who chases the big headlines with your cash.

  • Jul 18, 2015

As Richard Thaler explains, investors behave against their own interests — but you can outsmart your brain

  • Jun 27, 2015

This isn’t a market call, but the best time to start planning is before markets become more stormy.

  • Jun 5, 2015

The recovery is not evenly distributed, and a few factors have a major influence on whether you feel it.

  • May 15, 2015

The Vermont gas station attendant who quietly accumulated a fortune.

  • Apr 25, 2015

It is impossible to make yourself hack-proof, but you can make yourself less vulnerable.

  • Apr 10, 2015

If a columnist writes about other people’s financial errors, he has to admit his own. Mea culpa.

  • Mar 21, 2015

Are stocks cheap — or overpriced? Knowing can help you know when and how to invest.

  • Mar 7, 2015

The immediate impact is negative, but the longer-term effects are more positive.

  • Feb 14, 2015

Not just Uber: Tech firms are uniquely poised to topple old, entrenched businesses in many industries

  • Jan 29, 2015

The media and Wall Street help drive a parade of money-losing tomfoolery that’s all just marketing.

  • Jan 16, 2015

Knowing when to seek help, and adhering to the old tenets of patience and discipline, can lead to success.

  • Dec 20, 2014

I have $100,000 that says this is a better portfolio than what Anthony Robbins is pushing.

  • Dec 6, 2014

Giancarlo Stanton’s baseball deal isn’t as much as it sounds like, and he still needs to budget and plan ahead.

  • Nov 21, 2014

These extended financial periods — some of which can last decades — come to define each market era.

  • Nov 7, 2014

This advice can be crucial for investors seeking help

  • Oct 25, 2014

The growth of superstar stocks is always marked by white-knuckled drops. Few have the nerve to hold on.

  • Oct 4, 2014

It turns out, writing about a subject is a good way to figure out where you stand on the issue.

  • Sep 19, 2014

The greatest market timer and the worst market timer fare about the same as the dollar-cost averager.

  • Aug 23, 2014

There are factors that can narrow the trader’s disadvantage, but capital gains taxes are still the big issue.

  • Aug 9, 2014

Traders pay a tax of 30 percent or more on short-term capital gains. Passive indexers come out ahead.

  • Jul 26, 2014

Barry Ritholtz offers the worst investing ideas he’s heard this year.

  • Jul 5, 2014

Here’s an easy way to figure out which talking heads know what they’re talking about.

  • Jun 13, 2014

Financial stress and bankruptcy are startlingly common for athletes once their playing careers come to an end.

  • May 31, 2014

Without knowing when the economic environment has really changed, expensive mistakes are made.

  • May 16, 2014

Look at the motivations of pundits, strategists and fund managers before making investment decisions.

  • May 3, 2014

You might think that after last year’s strong gains, the markets might be due for a breather, but . . .

  • Apr 19, 2014

Valuation is a tougher question than many realize, and analysts’ estimates are at best an informed guess.

  • Mar 22, 2014

You, your employer and your retirement plan’s investment managers have made a hash of it.

  • Mar 7, 2014

Wall Street sells the outcome-oriented approach. But over time, the process-oriented investor wins.

  • Feb 22, 2014

Rather than pretend mistakes never happened, I prefer to “own” them and learn from them.

  • Feb 8, 2014

Tech giant’s actions suggest that it very cognizant of the future — and potential threats to its core business.

  • Jan 24, 2014

 

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