Bear Mountain Capital Inc.

Have a Plan

| December 11, 2012

It is around this time of year, starting in October, I sit with my clients to review their long-term financial plans. Planning is tedious, often frustrating, but one of the most important elements to a person’s long-term financial security. Financial security is different for everyone, some want to only plan for retirement, some want to have funds set aside for emergency or a rainy day fund. Others would like to…

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Do Not Make Me Say It Again…

| December 7, 2012

Nearly, every parent or child has uttered or heard the words “Don’t make me say it again…” at some point in their life. That is exactly the thought that comes to mind when I think about the dominating headline of the day: Fiscal Cliff. There I said it, but don’t make me say it again. It is exhausting to discuss the legislative gridlock we’ve experienced going on 3 years now….

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Dental Tourism?

| October 25, 2012

A client of mine introduced me to a company run by one of his colleagues. Love the concept. If you need quality, low-cost dental work done and like to travel, you can use this site to find a dental practice with good reviews, and locations for some of the most desirable tourist destinations worldwide. Think TripAdvisor for medical needs. When costs here in the US continue to increase, its a…

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Index Funds or Active Management?

| June 21, 2012

Did you know that most active equity mutual fund managers under perform their peer benchmarks over time?  As the time period stretches past 10, 15 or 20 years, the amount of under performance can be staggering. Under-Performance in US Equities According to data compiled by The Vanguard Group (Phillips, Christopher. “The case for indexing.” Valley Forge, PA: The Vanguard Group, 2012.) the percentage of actively managed US equity funds that…

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Opportunity

| May 18, 2012

Facebook’s IPO reminds everyone of what is possible when it comes to having an idea, taking it to market and being rewarded for the risk of seeing it through.  While the IPO hoopla that dominated today’s headlines was welcome relief from the news regarding Greece and Europe, it does little to help long-term investors during these volatile times. To be sure, since the end of the “credit crisis”, volatility in…

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The Volcker Rule

| March 27, 2012

A very important topic that unfortunately is not getting enough attention by the public… below some insightful commentary from the CFA Institute into the Volcker Rule and its importance to the long-term health of our financial system: “It is not hard to see the delicate balance this rule-making situation requires. Too strict a rule and important players in the provision of market stability and liquidity are impaired, to the detriment…

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A Recovery?

| March 20, 2012

Are we looking at a U.S. economic recovery?  Quite possibly.  How long could this recovery last?  It depends.  What does it depend on?  It depends on the following: * Housing * Unemployment * Europe * China * Iran Lets start with Housing: its been a long-slog for the housing and residential construction market.  However, it looks like we are turning a corner.  In the first few months of this year…

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Goldman Sachs and a Departing Exec

| March 14, 2012

This is an absolutely FANTASTIC op-ed penned by an executive who resigned from Goldman Sachs today. Hopefully this piece strikes a nerve with every client of Goldman’s. I do believe it may be too late to strike a nerve of the many Goldman board members and managing directors: (Click here to read NYTimes op-ed)

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Bill Gross on Greek Debt

| March 9, 2012

Gross on the net affect of the Greece debt restructuring. It is now more expensive for any government to borrow money, bond investors will demand higher yields for the increased probability governments will be forced into restructuring. (Click here to read Bloomberg.com article)  

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