Interest rates have been dropping since 1981, when the three month Treasury bill was at 17%. Today, it is near zero. Is there any danger hiding behind these very low current rates? It does not really matter where they are now. The key is to predict where they are likely to go and to understand

The stock market was up 16% last year, and in January alone it was up another 6%. The economy is not booming, which leads one to wonder–are prices too high? The best way to answer this question is with another one–are interest rates too low? Historically there is a negative correlation between stock prices and

By Professor Rick Ulivi Since I retired from full time teaching last May, I have more time available to serve a few more clients.  To help me in this endeavor, I hired Mr. John Welches to improve my marketing message. As a first step, he wanted to talk to a few clients to get some

By Ricardo Ulivi, Ph.D. and Sky Nguyen Setting a “safe” withdrawal rate is a great way to start taking retirement income, but advisors should monitor their clients’ “funding ratios” and “burn rates” to gauge the sustainability of their  portfolios. “I just don’t want to run out of money during my retirement!” In my more than 30

By Professor Rick Ulivi, Ph.D. Most of us like to make money, and certainly most of us enjoy spending it. We can make money by working or by investing our savings.  Savings result from money we worked hard for and chose not to spend.  When it comes time to invest, we like to be very