smart-money-report.com Blog

I was going through some old articles that I’ve saved over the years and I came across two gems written by Gary Smith way back in 1999. One is on expectancy and the other is on the concept of thinking of the equity in your account the same way that a retailer thinks about inventory. (more…)

Position sizing is the least talked about and most important factor that determines investment success. In his book, “Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom,” Dr. Van K. Tharp uses the term “position sizing” in preference to the more widely used term, “money management.” He says that money management means different things to different people, but position sizing is clear. It’s the answer to the question of “how much?” The number shares or contracts that should be bought or sold. (more…)

Have you ever met with a financial planner? If you haven’t, you can expect to go through a certain process. (more…)

I think it’s safe to say that most people would look at the stock market since early 2003 and conclude that it is a bull market. After all, a popular definition of a bull market is one where a major stock index gains at least 20%. And since the S&P 500 index rallied well over 50% from its 2002 low, it would certainly more than qualify as a bull market by that definition. However, I think making investment decisions based on that definition of a bull market can result in disappointing investment returns. (more…)

Exchange traded funds (or ETFs) are better for most investors than mutual funds. The mutual fund industry has experienced tremendous growth over that last twenty-five years or so. But it’s a new era now. It’s the era of the ETF. (more…)

There are five pillars to our approach to investment success. (more…)

The Commitments of Traders report (COT) is a weekly government report that is extremely valuable in knowing what the “smart money” is doing in various futures markets. There is a report for each futures market. Although COT reports have been around for years, the average investor not only doesn’t know how to use it, most don’t even know that it exists (more…)

What is a small cap stock? First of all, “cap” is short for capitalization. Capitalization means the market price of an entire company, calculated by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the price per share. (more…)

Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds (maybe over a thousand) of people with their personal financial planning. And I can tell you that there are five basic things you want to do to never have a serious financial problem the rest of your life. (more…)

It was late last year that Joel Greenblatt’s new book — “The Little Book That Beats The Market” — was published. I recommended it to our members. I also announced that Greenblatt’s Magic Formula list would be our primary screening source to find winning investments. Since then we have been able to identify some very profitable investments using Greenblatt’s formula. (more…)