Putting Things in Perspective: a Galactic View

These are interesting times in which to live. The world is changing around us, and we don't know what it will look like in five to ten years. That thought can be frightening, but it also can be intriguing; it depends on your point of view.

Every once in a while, it behooves us to put things in perspective. This week's video (2 1/2 minutes long), which has been widely seen on the Internet, shows how planets compare to one another (and to stars) in size. As you watch it,  keep in mind the biggest problems you are currently facing. It may make you feel better.

Conference Season

Late January/early February seems to be conference season for many professions, financial planning included. I guess the middle of winter is a good time to get out of town to warmer climes, because that's where such conferences always seem to be held.

From February 2 through 4, Juliet and I attended the TD Ameritrade Institutional National Conference in San Diego. This annual assembly of 2,500 or so  always provides education, enlightenment, and motivation, and this year was no exception. (Below is a brief video I put together from footage I shot using my portable video recorder.)

The very morning after we returned from San Diego, I was off again to Hollywood, Florida for the Inside ETFs Conference. This is an excellent yearly forum for increasing ones depth of knowledge surrounding exchange-traded funds, which we use extensively in client portfolios. Whenever I start to feel a little smart, I remember how scary-smart the presenters at this conference always are, and I am appropriately humbled.

Have an outstanding week!

-Andy

I have had several inquiries from clients and others lately regarding the prospect of an imminent collapse in our economic and financial system. The folks making the inquiries may have read a book or article, or perhaps seen an online video which makes a very cogent and reasonable-sounding argument that the economic sky is falling.
 

Don't believe it. There are many, many analysts, pundits and prognosticators out there who are more than willing to make predictions regarding our collective future. Those predictions run the gamut from black-hole scenarios to a world of goodness and light where everyone is rich and happy. As with most things in life, it is usually wise to avoid the fringes and live somewhere in the middle.

I don't pretend to know the future, but nobody else knows it, either.

This week's video is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at a few investment slang terms.
 

Have a wonderful week!