How would you rate the overall state of moral values in this country today? That’s the question the Gallup organization asks Americans every year. This year’s answers were not atypical. Only 2% of Americans surveyed rated our moral values as excellent – 42% said they were poor – and 74% felt that values were getting worse, not better. How does this translate to the business world? We’ll discuss the state of corporate morality. Financial historian Richard Sylla and award-winning financial editor Paul Steiger discuss how companies have become fixated on short-term stock prices to the exclusion of broader, long-term goals.
Wealthtrack Episodes
GREGG FISHER: FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES
The U.S. stock market has been one of the strongest performers in the world since the financial crisis, but some question if its days of market leadership are numbered. This week’s guest is starting to look in battered down international markets. Gregg Fisher, a top rated financial advisor explains the diversification benefits of small company foreign stocks and international real estate.
de LARDEMELLE: SCARCE VALUE
For most investors, both amateur and professional, the primary goal of investing is to make money. However a handful of our guests have another top priority – capital preservation. IVA Worldwide Fund’s co-portfolio manager Charles de Lardemelle is one of them. On this week’s WEALTHTRACK he explains why he is now holding more cash and fewer stocks in his value seeking portfolios.
TRAHAN: STILL BULLISH
A rare interview with Cornerstone Macro’s Investment Strategist, François Trahan, who has once again been named the number one ranked strategist on Wall Street by Institutional Investor magazine, as he has been for eight of the last ten years. Trahan has been a stock market bull since the fall of 2011, Still Bullish when the recovery and the markets looked very dicey. Since then he has stuck to his guns and the market has proven him right. What’s his view now? Despite faltering growth in much of the world, rising geopolitical risks and the U.S. stock markets regularly flirting with record highs, he says the U.S. bull market still has several years to run. He’ll explain why.
LAZAR: U.S. COMEBACK
How many times have you heard that China is on its way to surpassing the United States as the main driver of world economic growth? This week’ s guest says not so fast – growth dynamics are changing and the widely forecast new world order is returning to the old world order. Top rated economist, Nancy Lazar explains why the U.S. has resumed its role as the driver of global economic growth and China is lagging.
BERKOWITZ: POWERFUL FINANCIALS?
This week we have a rare interview with Bruce Berkowitz of The Fairholme Fund. Launched at the height of the tech bubble in late 1999, The Fairholme Fund has been the top performer in Morningstar’s Large Value category since inception, delivering 13% annualized returns and beating its nearest competitor by a margin of 2.4% points a year. Berkowitz believes in “ignoring the crowd”. He’ll explain why nearly 80% of his portfolio is in four financial stocks shunned by most investors.