Email NewslettersFun Facts NewslettersBerno Financial Fun Facts is our monthly newsletter to keep our clients, prospective clients and friends informed and connected to the latest financial happenings. Please contact us if you have any questions or comments about the Fun Facts newsletter. January 2012 Fun Facts NewsLet's pretend you've been stranded on a deserted island during 2011 and didn't even have internet access (imagine that!). So you ask, "What happened to the financial markets in 2011?" First, it was a two-stage market. In the first stage thru June 30th, everything was just fine. Most stock market asset classes had six month returns of between 4% to 6%, which were remarkably normal. Then the markets fell off a cliff, triggered by both U.S. and international government debt crises, a slow and sputtering U.S. economic recovery and economic weakness in Europe. What was the reaction? (read more...) December 2011 Fun Facts NewsWe are pleased to announce that Tricia Smith has joined our firm effective December 1, 2011 as our new Client Service Assistant. Tricia is a graduate of Xavier University and has over ten years of experience working for investment and personal financial planning firms, most recently with Ameriprise Financial Services and Lincoln Financial Advisors. She has earned the Registered Paraplanner (RP) professional credential. (read more...) November 2011 Fun Facts NewsOctober provided very strong returns for stock market investors, disproving the premise that October is a “spooky” month historically. U.S. small company and value style bias stocks turned in particularly good returns as high as over 15% for the month, followed closely by REIT’s at about 14%. U.S. large company stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 index, returned about 11% for the month. International stocks continued to be laggards, with returns of about 9%, which is generally nothing to complain about. (read more...) October 2011 Fun Facts NewsMemorize three things this month:
September 2011 Fun Facts News“Honesty is the best policy” is one of our firm’s guiding principles and August was a particularly brutal month for our investment strategy. Not only did the stock market decline, but international stocks, value style stocks and small company stocks were among the hardest hit in August. (read more...) August 2011 Fun Facts NewsThe final Harry Potter movie has captivated audiences as a generation of followers both celebrates and mourns the end of the series. Theatres were sold out and long lines formed well in advance of the midnight opening day showings. To get a good seat and enjoy the show, fans had to plan ahead. The same holds true for investing, with one notable exception. (read more...) July 2011 Fun Facts NewsThe last 4 days of June provided a stock market rally that erased much of the losses for June, with the month ending down slightly. What is the best performing asset class in 2011 so far? Real Estate! This proves, once again, why broad diversification and multi-asset class investing are so important since most people wrote off commercial real estate long ago. (read more...) June 2011 Fun Facts NewsBreaking news report: The stock market is volatile. Now that shouldn’t be news to you. Remember the following from last month and allow us to elaborate in what we hope will be your shortest summer reading ever: 1. We invest for expected returns, not past returns. May 2011 Fun Facts NewsExpanding on the theme we started in 2009, “Let’s look forward, not back” we want to introduce two new themes or principals and you may have already heard us use these themes in meetings or phone calls. (read more...) April 2011 Fun Facts NewsSince this is “Annual Report” season when publicly traded companies send reports to their shareholders about the past year and the company’s future strategy, we thought we would do the same for Berno Financial Management, Inc. and give our clients and friends some new insights in to our firm. (read more...) March 2011 Fun Facts NewsOn February 26, 2011, Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, published his annual “Letter to Shareholders.” The 24 page document is widely read by investment professionals and shareholders alike since Mr. Buffett goes to great length (literally) to explain his outlook on the world. (read more...) February 2011 Fun Facts NewsKeeping with our theme of “Let’s look forward, not back,” we share the following investor resolutions, with credit to Brad Steiman of Dimensional Fund Advisors: (read more...) January 2011 Fun Facts NewsWe had another GREAT YEAR in 2010! Stock market returns were strong across the board. While international stocks trailed U.S. stocks for only the second calendar year in the last 9 years, they still posted 9% plus returns. U.S. small company and small value stocks were the asset class leaders with returns over 30%. Surprisingly, US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT’s) turned in about a 28% return. Who would have thought that a year ago? (read more...) December 2010 Fun Facts NewsIn the spirit of the holiday season, here is a list of early New Year’s resolutions and fun things to do in 2011:
|
