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I posted a video this week from Carl Icahn entitled "Danger Ahead".  In the video, Carl discusses some warning signs that he sees in the markets that have been building since 2007/08 in a way that anyone can understand.  It's 15 minutes long and well worth the watch.  I hope you enjoy.   Danger Ahead   Proper Wealth Management's blog is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of Jared Toren. Any views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest. Jared Toren is the CEO of Proper Wealth Management, LLC, a Texas based Registered Investment Advisor.   All material presented herein is believed ...

China has been on everyone's mind the past few months and I believe it's important to understand it's impact.  A China whose growth is slowing is a China that buys materially less resources from around the world. Barry Ritholtz published the above chart, which shows the amounts of raw materials that China buys as a percentage of world production.  If growth slows down, this could have a dramatic impact on the prices of raw materials and on the companies of those who sell them...         Proper Wealth Management's blog is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of Jared Toren. Any views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as ...

So you say you're an angel investor and you haven't heard of section 1202 of the IRS code?  Your first reaction might be, "how the hell didn't my accountant or angel buddies tell me about this".  Don't be surprised because according to my friend Joe Milam, most people aren't aware of this rule either.  It's a tricky one and instead of explaining it myself, I'll let Joe's well written post explain it. Without further adieu, section 1202.     Investment advisory services offered through Proper Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser. This site is published for residents of the United States only. Investment Advisor Representatives may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, ...

For those of you who've seen me recently know, I've only been able to use 1 arm the past 3 weeks due to a mountain biking accident in Colorado. The story goes...I was in Colorado the week of July 4th with family and decided to go mountain biking one day in Breckenridge.  I ended up going over a jump I had no business going on and ended up injuring my shoulder causing a grade 3 AC separation.  While in the ER room at the hospital, I noticed (it was hard to miss) the hospital staff was frantic and there were a variety of codes they were announcing over the loudspeaker that I didn't quite understand.  Nurses and doctors were running ...

Bank of America conducted a study of 191 clients who hold $510 Billion in assets under management.  The study found cash levels jumped to 5.5%, the highest since December 2008.  Although according to Bank of America Strategist Michael Hartnett, he views this is a buy signal.  I agree to disagree... Here's a link to the article with a few charts that shows the indicator they've created.  From what I can see, high cash levels are not a buy signal and I personally don't consider 5.50% to be a high amount of cash.  It's hard to tell especially when you don't know who was surveyed.  This might be a large cash amount for money managers but for asset allocators and wealth ...

I get asked at times what resources I use which help us make decisions.  There's so much information out there about investments and markets that it can at times be overwhelming to decide what to read.  This on top of the talking heads on CNBC and Bloomberg which will make news out of just about anything.  One of the resources I enjoy is 361 Capital's weekly blog. Enjoy this week's edition by 361. 361 Capital Blog     Investment advisory services offered through Proper Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser. This site is published for residents of the United States only. Investment Advisor Representatives may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response ...

When I ask people how much they're paying for their current wealth management or investments, what I often hear is "I have no clue".  I find this very odd since most of my clients are entrepreneurs and C level executives who are able to calculate complex ROI's for content marketing, adwords and a variety of other things.  They hire vendors and employees on a constant basis and consistently look at cost-benefit analysis (even if it's back of the napkin).  Few of these clients would ever hire a vendor, service provider, employee, etc. without first knowing the cost.  Yet most people have no clue what they pay for investment advice or financial planning unless it's a flat fee. My industry has ...

There was a great article in Bloomberg regarding China's stock market valuation.  China's stock market value reach $10 Trillion, an increase of almost $7 Trillion in 12 months.  The increase is bigger than Japan's entire stock market. Individuals are borrowing to invest as valuations are now the highest in 5 years and margin debt is at a record high.  This is combined with China's weakest expansion since 1990. This aligns with our views that markets across the globe are reaching bubble territory and investors need to be  careful. To read more, click ...