Details Are Part of Our Difference
Embracing the Evidence at Anheuser-Busch – Mid 1980s
529 Best Practices
David Booth on How to Choose an Advisor
The One Minute Audio Clip You Need to Hear
Matt Hall in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Matt Hall was quoted in a January 5th article by business reporter Jim Gallagher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Jim discusses floating rate funds and how they perform in different market environments. As Matt notes in the article, floating rate funds aren’t a wise investment because they “fare much worse than investment-grade bond funds in bad times, but they don’t have the upside gains of the stock market in good times.”
Thoughts on Charitable Giving
This time of year has many people thinking about charitable giving. Unfortunately, the tax benefits seem to be the primary catalyst, but I regularly challenge myself to take it further with this reflection:
What is the best thing I have done for someone else throughout the last year?
I hope to always have a great answer; think about what yours might be. Whether it’s giving money or time, we can all do our part to make the lives of someone else a bit more comfortable.
This year, my wife, Lynn, and I continued to support our church, the military, and special services devoted to kids (Epworth, Angels’ Arms and Kingdom House). Our family and close friends may know that these charities are important to us, but fewer would know that we actually have a defined charitable plan guiding our efforts to support non-profits.
Over the coming months, I will share our experience on the subject of charitable giving: how Lynn and I decided what our reasons are for giving, what strategic giving vehicles we considered, and why the charities that we chose are important to us. With my encouragement, I hope that you make charitable giving a higher priority in your own life.
Many Happy Returns
It’s that time of the year when the talking heads of television and the prognosticators of print issue their sage outlooks for the coming 12 months. While this crystal ball gazing is always entertaining, it becomes even more so a year later. Check out this short piece from Jim Parker of DFA Australia.