CKBlog: Strategies
Monday, February 24, 2020
Buffett’s Annual Letter
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Three major takeaways from Warren Buffett’s current letter to shareholders. Change is coming ...
Read on: Buffett’s Annual Letter
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Bank Stocks are Like Rental Properties
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Owning rental property is generally viewed as a terrific investment. When executed properly, you collect cash while someone else pays down your mortgage, allowing you to build equity. All while you sleep (until that 3 a.m. call to fix the toilet). If fixing toilets is not your thing, consider bank stocks instead.
Read on: Bank Stocks are Like Rental Properties
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Choose the Best, Do the Worst?
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
“Should I just invest my entire portfolio in the S&P 500 Index? It’s done so well and represents the best economy in the world.” But is it always a good choice?
Read on: Choose the Best, Do the Worst?
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Economists are Usually Wrong
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Economists are increasingly calling for a recession. Is this reason to worry? Should we run for the hills? Do economists know what they are talking about?
Read on: Economists are Usually Wrong
Thursday, September 05, 2019
The Family Bank 2019
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Many wealthy families are increasingly looking to family members to help finance a home or new business venture. Going into business with family certainly can be tricky but if you have a good relationship with a wealthy family member, such loans may make sense.
Read on: The Family Bank 2019
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Don’t Let The Inverted Yield Curve Invert Your Investment Plan
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Recent headlines about the “Yield Curve Inversion” might make you panic. Before you panic, find out what an Inverted Yield Curve is and what it means.
Read on: Don’t Let The Inverted Yield Curve Invert Your Investment Plan
Monday, May 06, 2019
Berkshire Meeting Notes
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Markets change. Politics change. But each year, Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger stay on message and remind us to tune out the considerable static, do our homework, and act with conviction when the odds are in our favor.
Read on: Berkshire Meeting Notes
Monday, February 25, 2019
“Steve’s Notes” on Buffett’s 2018 Letter to Shareholders
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
It was another good one. Clear, concise, folksy, patriotic, and included a dig on the financial services industry. Classic Buffett. Each year, Mr. Buffett reminds us and inspires us to keep it simple and stay the course.
Read on: “Steve’s Notes” on Buffett’s 2018 Letter to Shareholders
Friday, February 01, 2019
Do Good. Own Real Estate. And Save Taxes? A Primer on Opportunity Funds.
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
When news began circulating about a legal way to both invest in real estate AND substantially reduce long-term capital gains taxes, we were all ears. Here’s what we learned.
Read on: Do Good. Own Real Estate. And Save Taxes? A Primer on Opportunity Funds.
Monday, December 17, 2018
A Worthless Millionaire
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Inflation is real and may be the single most destructive force to impact your quality of life during retirement. If it accelerates, you will want to work with a professional who has real-world experience with its effects.
Read on: A Worthless Millionaire
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Timing versus Time Frame
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
They say “timing is everything.” Sure, when investing, getting the timing right when buying and selling a stock can make a huge difference in actual performance. But as we’ve previously written, timing the market is nearly impossible. It requires you to be right twice. You could have been a genius to sell out of stocks in 2007 prior to the financial crisis, but if you never “got back in,” were you really any good at market timing?
Read on: Timing versus Time Frame
Monday, October 29, 2018
Value with Growth
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
There has been much talk recently about the possible shift from “growth” to “value” stocks during the recent market volatility. A review of why this may be happening is in order. Growth has worked better for the last several years. Value has worked better over a longer period of time. So what is an investor to do?
Read on: Value with Growth
Thursday, August 02, 2018
Why Did This Deal Reach Me?
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Part of our role for clients is to evaluate the private deals that come across our desks. Sometimes these reach us through a cold call or email, but they also arrive via our own network and in many cases, from our own clients. It takes an extremely high bar for these investments to make it into client portfolios.
Read on: Why Did This Deal Reach Me?
Friday, May 18, 2018
What Mickey Mantle Taught Me About Value Investing
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
It’s been tough for value investors. Over the last ten years ending March 31, 2018, the S&P 500 Growth index outperformed the S&P 500 Value index by nearly 4% per year. Compounded annually, that’s a difference of nearly 90%! And this wouldn’t be the first time. This will change. Profits and retained earnings are what should matter over the long run.
Read on: What Mickey Mantle Taught Me About Value Investing
Wednesday, May 09, 2018
Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting 2018: Buffett Prefers Discipline over IQ
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Thousands flock to Omaha each year in search of a magical nugget, courtesy of Warren Buffett, that we can apply to our investment process and to our lives. And each year, we are reminded that the secret to successful investing is there is no secret.
Read on: Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting 2018: Buffett Prefers Discipline over IQ
Thursday, April 05, 2018
Buy and Hold ... Stock Certificates?
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
We’ve all heard the stories. “Husband Finds $4.3 mln worth of Stock in Attic.” “Children Find Parents’ Treasure Trove of Stock Certificates in Basement.” We should all be so lucky. But what if this had less to do with luck and more to do with tried and true investment strategies? Can we learn something from these tales (other than it’s about time you visited Grandma and helped clean the attic)?
Read on: Buy and Hold ... Stock Certificates?
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
“Steve’s Notes” on Buffett’s 2017 Annual Letter to Shareholders
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Steve Haberstroh’s takeaways on reading Warren Buffett’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
Read on: “Steve’s Notes” on Buffett’s 2017 Annual Letter to Shareholders
Thursday, November 16, 2017
The Family Bank
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Many wealthy families are increasingly looking to family members to help finance a home or new business venture. Going into business with family certainly can be tricky but if you have a good relationship with a wealthy family member, such loans may make sense. In order to pass muster with the IRS, though, family loans must contain a promissory note, must spell out a fixed repayment schedule, and must comply with Applicable Federal Tax Rates(AFRs) per IRS guidelines.
Read on: The Family Bank
Thursday, November 02, 2017
If Your Advisor Retires, Where Does That Leave You?
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Is your financial advisor going to retire before you do? Ernst & Young says most financial advisors are aged 50-plus. Then consider CastleKeep: a multigenerational team set up to provide advice for generations.
Read on: If Your Advisor Retires, Where Does That Leave You?
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Looking for Losses
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Summer has come and gone in the U.S. Fall is here. So while many people are excited about this year’s harvest at the local apple orchard, here at CastleKeep we’re focused on a different kind of harvest: tax losses. Yes, it may sound peculiar, but we are currently looking for losses in our client portfolios. And you should be too.
Read on: Looking for Losses
Friday, May 12, 2017
Warren Buffett Responded
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
Back in February, I wrote a piece in reaction to Warren Buffett’s discussion on hedge fund and investment management fees in his latest Annual Letter to Shareholders. The heart of my post was that yes, many hedge fund and investment managers are not worth the fees they charge, but much like how Buffett relies on his Co-Chairman Charlie Munger for financial advice, surely, the average investor can receive value when paying for financial advice and expertise. My final post ended, “So would Buffett be willing to pay his ‘advisor,’ Charlie Munger, 1% per year to help him manage large and impactful investment decisions? I’m willing to wager he’d say ‘yes.’”
Well, at the Berkshire Annual meeting this year, I won my wager ...
Read on: Warren Buffett Responded
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
My Wager with Warren: A Reaction to Berkshire Hathaway’s 2016 Annual Letter to Shareholders
by Steve Haberstroh, Partner
It was another classic. Warren Buffett covered everything from colonoscopy prep to the limitations of GAAP accounting. He took me through a range of emotions. For the hour or so I spent with Buffett (figuratively of course), I experienced curiosity, surprise, frustration, reverence, bewilderment, laughter, and respect. The one thing I did not do was cry although it would not have been the first-time Buffett has made me cry. I challenge you to watch the newly released HBO documentary, Becoming Warren Buffett, and not shed a tear. ...
Read on: My Wager with Warren: A Reaction to Berkshire Hathaway’s 2016 Annual Letter to Shareholders