Tag Archives: Stock Market

Mid-Term Elections and the Stock Market: Should Investors be Worried?

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Dear Mr. Market:

If the stock market has felt a little more unpredictable lately, there’s a reason to pay attention to the calendar. We’re heading into another midterm election cycle, and history suggests that the second year of a presidential term is often the most volatile stretch of the four-year political cycle.

That doesn’t necessarily mean investors should run for the exits. In fact, the historical data tells a much more interesting story: midterm years have often brought deeper market pullbacks and weaker returns, but the twelve months following midterm elections have historically been among the strongest periods of the presidential cycle.

With the 2026 midterms approaching, it’s worth taking a closer look at what history tells us, what it doesn’t, and why investors should be careful about confusing volatility with danger.

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Warren Buffett Is 60% Cash: Is a Stock Market Crash Coming?

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Dear Mr. Market:

A few months ago, when the hype machine was redlining over the SpaceX IPO, we wrote about the dangers of chasing glamorous narratives on day one. We noted how easy it is to get blinded by shiny, new tech stories while glossing over basic valuation rules. We love the excitement of a hot market.

But while the retail crowd is busy looking for spaceships, the most successful investor in human history is quietly building a fortress out of boring, old-fashioned greenbacks.

Lately, you’ve given the financial media a lot of ammunition, Mr. Market. The talking heads are looking at Berkshire Hathaway’s balance sheet and shouting from the rooftops. Under the strategic guidance of chairman Warren Buffett and CEO Greg Abel, the cash hoard has climbed to an astronomical $397.4 billion.

Naturally, the “perma-bears”…or those we affectionately call the “Broken Clock Club” (because they’re guaranteed to be right twice a day)…are having a absolute field day. They point frantic fingers at Berkshire’s $400 billion mountain of cash and Treasury bills, screaming, “Look! Even Buffett is hoarding cash because the bubble is about to pop!”

It sounds logical. But it’s a total mirage.

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The Genius, The Bear, and the Broken Clock

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Dear Mr. Market:

You’ve been around long enough to know that the smartest people in the room are not always the most profitable ones. Case in point: Michael Burry just published what may be the most meticulously researched bearish manifesto since… well, since his last one.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. The man called the 2008 housing collapse with surgical precision, bet his career and his investors’ capital on it, and was right while everyone, including his own clients, thought he’d lost his mind. That’s not luck. That’s genius. If you haven’t seen The Big Short, go watch it. Then come back.

But here’s the thing about genius: it doesn’t come with an expiration date stamped on the worry.

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How the Market Keeps Winning While the Headlines Keep Warning

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Dear Mr. Market:

You sure know how to keep us guessing.

“The bubble is about to pop”, right? After years of the constant drumbeat about an “inevitable” recession, the market is sitting near record highs again. But for those paying attention, the mood under the surface feels different. The leadership baton is being transferred …not toward the headline-making names that powered the last leg of the bull run, but toward the quiet, defensive corners of the market: utilities, healthcare, and consumer staples. The kinds of stocks you buy when growth gets wobbly and investors start seeking shelter.

And yet, despite the sector rotation, the broader indexes remain firm. It’s almost as if you’re daring us to overthink it.

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The Broken Clock Investor: Always Warning, Rarely Winning

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Dear Mr. Market:

One of our favorite recurring themes here at Dear Mr. Market is what we like to call the “Broken Clock Club” — the group of perma-bears, doomcasters, and media pundits who reliably forecast financial catastrophe year after year. Like a broken clock, they’re eventually right… but for all the wrong reasons and far too late to be of any use to investors.

Let’s rewind to December 2023. Headlines were ablaze with bold predictions of economic calamity. Chief among them was the infamous economist Harry Dent, who warned of a 1929-style market crash hitting in early 2024. (click here to review that article that grabbed a lot of nervous eyeballs back then). Dent’s call wasn’t exactly an outlier; it echoed a chorus of dire predictions centered on Fed policy, inflation hangovers, geopolitical instability, commercial real estate defaults, and consumer weakness.

Yet here we are, approaching mid-2025, with the S&P 500 not only above its December 2023 levels, but clawing its way back and approaching highs throughout the first half of this year. What gives?

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Bulls, Bears, and Ballots: Election Years & the Stock Market

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Dear Mr. Market:

If you’re watching an NBA basketball game and you have one player to take a final shot to win the game, who do you choose? Like him or not the guy who has scored the second most points in the history of basketball is LeBron James and he has made 50.5% of all shots he’s ever taken. Let’s switch sports to much worse odds, like baseball, where the average hitter is around .250 for a batting average. Even the best the game has ever seen was the great Ty Cobb who hit .366 for his career. Speaking of winning or losing, the mecca of odds making is in Las Vegas of course, and if you’re ever interested in losing money, just know that on average you can come out with a winning blackjack hand only 42.4% of the time.

New year, fresh canvas, but pretty much the same problems….So what are the odds of the market going up, down, or sideways in 2024?

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100 Reasons Why Your Financial Advisor Should Not Use Mutual Funds

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Dear Mr. Market:

The stock market is made up of thousands of choices and one easy way to gain exposure to it is via mutual funds. While we don’t want to broad brush the topic, we’re going to get right into it and explain 100 reasons why you or your financial advisor should not be using mutual funds versus ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds).

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Fed up

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Dear Mr. Market:

The past two months in the stock market have been treacherous and truly tested the average investor’s nerves. Most of us are close to being “fed up” with the headlines, inflation, political division and ensuing market volatility. Before we get into the headline of the day, let’s quickly touch on the operative word, “Fed” and how completely wrong the Federal Reserve has been at just about every turn. The following timeline comes from The Kobeissi Letter, an industry leading commentary on the global capital markets:

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Bull Market Respite or Bear Market Rally?

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Dear Mr. Market:

Let’s first remind our readers again of who this “Mr. Market” character is. Our investment blog and star personality is in reference to Benjamin Graham’s metaphor in his book “The Intelligent Investor,” where he personifies the stock market as Mr. Market, an emotional and erratic character. Over the past few decades, rarely have we seen such unprecedented market action but also a total tug of war between emotions, volatility, politics, and who will win ; the bulls or the bears. If you’re in the camp of being scared, confused, or frustrated…you are definitely not alone.

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Thanksgiving Thoughts

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Dear Mr. Market:

Aside from extending our warmest wishes to you for a Happy Thanksgiving, we want to remind you that there is something else happening this time of year. We’re entering the strongest part of the year for the stock market as well as one that historically has the best chance to surprise everyone to the upside now that the midterm elections have passed.

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