Family Goes Strong

If it Seems too Good to be True, it Probably is

Quick get-rich schemes aren’t worth the risk

February 2, 2011

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There is no magic in investing. If you want to increase your portfolio's value, avoid strategies that seem too good to be true.

Back in the 1990s, I worked with a guy who had a friend on Wall Street that he called the "chief." I think they went to college together.

Every once in a while, this friend would get a call from the "chief." The "chief" always had some inside information about a deal that was going to be announced, and he was telling his friend so that his friend could invest in the stocks involved. Let's ignore for the time being that what was going on was probably highly illegal and grounds for an insider trading case.

Know your SEC Filings

Dig into a company’s disclosures before investing in it.

By: Chris Roush

November 26, 2010

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Don't be afraid to snoop through a company's SEC documents.

I'm constantly amazed at how people decide to invest in a stock.

For example, a professional money manager told me he was buying Coca-Cola Co. shares because he liked the taste of Coke Zero shortly after it was introduced in 2005. The stock is currently trading at about the same price it was at in 1997.

Parsing Analyst Reports

Read between the lines for investment picks

By: Chris Roush

November 21, 2010

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Knowing the message an analyst is trying to convey is half the battle

Wall Street analysts have gotten a bad rap in the past decade, and for the most part, that reputation is deserved.

They've been accused of promoting stocks to investors of companies that do investment banking business with their firm. And they've been accused of simply being too soft on companies for fear of shutting off the information spigot. Most investors now know that an analyst's opinion about an investment comes with some baggage.

Helping the New College Grad in Your Life Take the Next Step

The job market is tough, but you need to get out of the way

By: Barbara Kantrowitz

May 10, 2010

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If your son or daughter is about to graduate from college in the next couple of weeks, there's probably one question that is on your whole family's mind: what happens next? Since the start of the recession, a growing number of recent grads have opted for staying in school – hoping that an advanced degree will make them more marketable later on, especially as economic conditions improve. Still, the majority of new graduates land on the job market . Even with Wall Street on the upswing, it's still a struggle to land that first gig.

Monday's Question: How Long Should You Let Your Kids Live at Home?

The economy is getting better, so it could be time for them to move out

By: Barbara Kantrowitz

May 10, 2010

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Despite last week's roller coaster on Wall Street, there's no doubt in the minds of most smart people who study the economy that things are getting better. The number of job creations is up and this year's crop of graduates is already reporting a much higher employment rate than the Class of 2009. We're still nowhere near where we were in, say, the good old days of 2005, but we're not in deep trouble either.