Tuesday's Skewering of Toyota by Our Elected Officials Was One Of The Most Embarrassing Moments For Our Country In Years

Our country (you and me), which now owns two of the three U.S. auto manufacturers, used the bully pulpit this week, creating a real conflict of interest (via our elected officials) to beat up the CEO of Toyota. This is the same company that employs 200,000 Americans in the U.S.

Nothing more to say.

When You Travel, Wear Something From The College You Went To

I have found that if you, or one of your kids, etc. attended a particular college, wearing something with that school's name on it, is a great way to meet people. This works well for small to medium size colleges.

I am from Indianapolis and my daughter is currently a junior at Butler. I am traveling today from Savannah to Indianapolis to visit her and to go to my second Butler basketball game of the season.

I was only minutes into the Savannah airport when someone stopped me and said "Hey, did you go to Butler?" This also happened on the streets of Savannah two weeks ago and the last time I flew to Las Vegas. Turns out the retired gentleman I met today, played on Butler's basketball team and faced off against the Ohio State team that sported Jerry Lucas, John Havilicheck, etc. He also played with the famous basketball star, Bobby Plump, famous for hitting the "last shot" in the movie "Hoosiers".

So next time you travel, wear a hat or t-shirt from your college and you will be surprised how many new people you will meet!

Where Have I Been Lately? Performing Deep Analysis of Our Portfolios Of Course!

December and January of each year I go through the process of taking all of our portfolios apart at Wade Financial Group, and then putting them back together again as if we were starting from scratch, based upon the world today, not one year ago.

I have a friend that tinkers with cars. The purpose of tinkering is to get more power, better fuel efficiency, etc. Sometimes when he takes an engine apart, when putting it back together, there may be those "aha" moments. These are moments when you stop the rebuilding process and consider that a newer/better part that was not around one year ago should replace a previous part. He would also take into consideration if the "environment" for the engine/car is different than the year before. Things like: what is the price of gas, does Ethanol really add value, is super charging in order or is bracing for a turbulent terrain justification for making major adjustments to the suspension system?
 
We here at Wade Financial Group have been working overtime to make adjustments for 2010 across all of our portfolios that we believe are prudent, based upon where we see the economy now and upcoming, vs. the past.

A future blog will recap the changes across our portfolios that we have/are making on behalf of the wealth our clients have entrusted us with.
INVESTING LESSON:
Financial advisors who constantly reevaluate what is going on in the financial markets are worth their weight in Gold.
A contrarian style of investing is the ONLY method that has proven, over time to reduce risk and take advantage of opportunities.

The Mass. Election and The Direction of the Economy

I prescribe to the following theory. Having the executive branch and the House and Senate, all controlled by a single party, has seldom been good for the economy and investors.

Reagan had great success with the economy when the House and Senate were controlled by the other party. Clinton had success when the other party had some control as well. In both cases, Reagan and Clinton were required to govern from what the media calls the "center." Let me keep this simple. Obama, due to the current control of all branches of government, is nowhere near the center. All the polls indicate Americans are not in majority support of what he wants.

Remember, what I am looking for is what "combination of politicians" in Washington will allow for:
1) The representation of the majority of Americans on a given topic.
2) The economy and stock market to recover vs. enter another recession.

If the country gets lucky in Mass., we may just end up with what can get the focus back on what Americans want: A group of politicians in Washington, that due to shared control, is forced to compromise and forces Obama to govern from the center like Clinton did. I have said for a year, give me Clinton back!

If the above happens, it will be a first step in improving my outlook for the short and long term future of the global economy. That said, the trillion dollar deficit spending authorized by essentially both parties is a LARGE, LOOMING issue, that whoever wins in Mass. does not address.

INVESTING LESSON:

Too much government control by a single party has seldom = a good economy.

Insight Into The Personal Side of Jerry Wade

I seldom, if ever, comment about my personal matters on this blog. That said, one of the potential benefits for readers of a blog is to gain additional insight about the author that might otherwise not be shared in the traditional format of "corporate communications." Readers need to understand that bloggers are representing their personal views, insights, updates, etc., that may not always be consistent with the company's traditional forms of communication.

The above said, I appreciate that many of the clients of my company, Wade Financial Group, care about me both professionally and personally and are often asking for updates regarding my health. With this in mind, I share the following about the personal side of my life on this amazing place we call earth!

Most readers may not be aware that I was a swimmer in college at Ball State in Indiana.

Last weekend, I competed in the Savannah Winter Classic, as part of the Savannah Swim Team (SST). Other teams were there from all over the region. I was one of three "old people" to compete.

I competed in the 100 freestyle, had not swum in race form in over 30 years. Had trouble in practice prior week with how to pace the 100 race. Came in at 1:02. I actually went faster in practice, but simply went out too slow on the first 50, of which I had been going out way too fast in practice. I will do better next time!


Matched my time of one month ago in 50 free at MN Masters meet of which I came in second in my age group.


MN Masters Meet- December 2009
Click on image below to enlarge.Savannah Winter Age Group Classic-January 2010
Of the 50 swimmers on the SST, age 5-21, I put in the fastest male swimmer time and second fastest across both girls and boys for the 50 freestyle.
Click on image below to enlarge.

Life Lesson:
Thanks for caring. It is the love and caring among each other that transcends the day to day challenges in life that we all face.

Jerry Wade

Words of Wisdom From Doug Kass

I follow Doug Kass, a professional investor whose views often beat to a different drummer than the status quo. Below is a section from his latest article at http://www.thestreet.com/.

"In markets and in life, we are consistently bamboozled by appearance and consensus. Too often, we are played as suckers as we just accept the trend, momentum and/or the superficial as certain truth without a shred of criticism. Just look at those who bought into the success of Enron, the financial supermarket concept at Citigroup (C Quote), the uninterrupted profit growth at Fannie Mae (FNM Quote) and Freddie Mac (FRE Quote), housing's new paradigm of noncyclical growth and ever-rising home prices in the early to mid 2000s, Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, the uncompromising principles of former New York Governor Elliott Spitzer, the morality of our politicians (e.g., John Edwards, John Ensign and Larry Craig), the consistency of Bernie Madoff's investment returns (and those of other hucksters) and the clean-cut image of Tiger Woods."

"Do you want to know the truth or see me hit a few dingers?"

-- Mark McGwire

"And, even the heroic home-run production of steroid-laced Major League Baseball players such as Mark McGwire is ignored until the facts are made public in black and white."

INVESTING LESSON:
Only by standing against the prevailing winds – selectively, but resolutely – can an investor prosper over time. Such a strategy may underperform during markets that are rising based upon the momentum of the herd vs. fundamental valuations.

The Biggest Losers Behind the Christmas Eve Taxpayer Massacre at Fannie and Freddie

Click on the above article link to the WSJ analysis of the open checkbook policy in Washington. Their open checkbook eventually requires that we open ours, further, as well.

INVESTING LESSON:
Only by standing against the prevailing winds – selectively, but resolutely – can an investor prosper over time. Such a strategy may underperform during markets that are rising based upon the momentum of the herd vs. fundamental valuations.