Strategies

What Are Stock Options? A Guide to Puts and Calls

What Are Stock Options? A Guide to Puts and Calls

Stock options can be confusing, partly because there are many types of contracts: exchange-traded options, OTC options, and employee stock options that are part of compensation packages. As such, you might be asking, “What are stock options?” In this article, we’ll review all the types of stock options and examine how to include options in […]

Leverage: It’s Why Portfolios Blow Up

Leverage: It’s Why Portfolios Blow Up

Last week, the forced unwinding of the Archegos Capital Management hedge fund put fears of a market collapse into investors’ minds. While it appears to have been an isolated case, the fund’s collapse vividly points out the dangers of using leverage to boost investment returns. Let’s discuss how excess leverage can turn declines in security […]

Heeding the Warning Signs of Inflation

Heeding the Warning Signs of Inflation

It was a picture-perfect afternoon in Fort Myers, Florida. Jo, Holly, my son Drew, a couple of his college baseball teammates and I decided to take our brand-new boat for a spin in the Gulf. I passed my Coast Guard course and was full of confidence. We barreled toward the markers at the entrance of […]