Newsletter Archive

Marotta On Money - October 03 Newsletter

Economics

Economic Lessons from Chess (10-03-2011)

I love strategy games. Many people dismiss games as a waste of time. But at their best they teach principles of cause and effect that we can use as paradigms for real life. Of course, some games are better than others. Market games like the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge teach all the wrong lessons about investing. Short-term movements are mostly noise. Therefore 10-week winner-take-all market contests encourage diversifying as little as possible and purchasing the most volatile investments. Chess encourages a much longer strategic approach. My interest in chess began when I was only four years old.
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Upcoming Events

10/05

Virginia's Sales Tax Holiday: Energy Star and WaterSense Qualified Products.

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10/06

Founders Day

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In The News

David John Marotta Quoted in "Wall Street Journal" Article on Roth Conversions

David John Marotta quoted in a Wall Street Journal article by Andrea Coombs called "Roth Regrets? Still Time to Change," on Roth Conversions and Recharacterizations.

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Featured Video

Video: Year-End Tax Planning Could Significantly Save You Money

George Marotta: What Is A Contrarian? (08-07-2006)

A father and son's thoughts on contrarian investing. Part one of two. A contrarian is one who takes a side different from the masses. When everyone is going in one direction, a contrarian chooses to go in the other direction. I confess. I am a contrarian. In investment terms, it is difficult to be a contrarian. Here are some examples. In the spring of 2000, most investors were buying the Standard and Poor's 500 stock index fund. This index fund had been outperforming most mutual funds that were run by trained and highly-paid portfolio managers.
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