Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. is a registered investment advisor and has been ranked by Barron’s as one of the top independent advisors in the nation for the last five consecutive years. We manage portfolios for individuals, families, and small businesses throughout the United States.
History has a way of repeating itself. In early 1995 my dad wrote about a math professor named Tom Nicely, who worked at Lynchburg College. Nicely was examining prime numbers using a group of five personal computers. While four of the computers gave Nicely the correct answer to a problem, 1.2126596294086, the fifth turned up a slightly different answer, 1.212659624891157804.
From September 1985 through September 2017, my dad spent each and every month diligently researching, preparing, and writing his monthly investment newsletter, The Intelligence Report (IR).
Readers of IR are aware of the high regard my dad has for Ben Graham, the father of value investing and one of the most successful investors of all time. My dad believes Graham authored the only investment book most investors will ever need. “If you have read The Intelligent Investor cover to cover, you are head and shoulders above the vast majority of the investing public. To this day, the amount of investing insight and wisdom packed into this single volume remains unmatched.” Some of Graham’s most valuable advice was to the defensive investor. For example, Graham wrote, “One of the most persuasive tests of high quality is an uninterrupted record of dividend payments for the last 20 years or more. Indeed, the defensive investor might be justified in limiting his purchases to those meeting this test.”
Today we have what appears to be a supportive environment for the stock market. Economic growth, both in the U.S. and globally, has picked up. For the first time since 2014, GDP growth has accelerated to more than 3% for two consecutive quarters. The global liquidity environment remains robust, with the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan still pumping money into the global financial system. Long-term interest rates remain low by historical standards. Business and consumer sentiment are at highs not seen in years, and corporate profits are rising at a rapid clip, with the prospect of an added boost coming from lower tax rates in 2018.
It’s unsettling when The Weather Channel and CNN camp out in your town to cover an incoming hurricane described as the biggest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. Hurricane Irma was massive, with winds of at least tropical storm force covering 70,000 square miles—larger than Florida’s entire land area. Just several days prior to landing in Naples, it appeared Irma would track the east coast of Florida, more towards Miami, leaving our hometown in a much more desirable position.
NAPLES, FL
5150 Tamiami Trail North, Suite 400
Naples, FL 34103
Phone: (888) 456-5444 Fax: (239) 213-0770
NEWPORT, RI
98 William Street
Newport, RI 02840
Phone: (800) 843-7273 Fax: (401) 849-0002
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