Posts by author:

Lee Distad

Why Reverse Stock Splits Hurt Shareholders

Thumbnail image for Why Reverse Stock Splits Hurt Shareholders

Once primarily a tool of shady penny stocks, the reverse stock split has become a favorite of exchange-listed financial companies during the chaos of the past year.
A reverse split reduces the total float of common shares while maintaining the same total market cap, mashing the stock price of multiple shares into the price of one [...]

Read the full article →

If You're Going to Trade Stocks, Read This First

Thumbnail image for If You're Going to Trade Stocks, Read This First

Regular readers of Automatic Finances will know well that we advocate long term, buy-and-hold investing.
Overall, for both small and large investors, it remains the most stable and consistent approach to both wealth creation and preservation.
Short-term trading, in comparison, carries considerable risks to an investor's capital. That's why it's important to make that distinction between investing [...]

Read the full article →

Change Your Attitudes to Change Your Finances

Thumbnail image for Change Your Attitudes to Change Your Finances

As someone who works hard at self-improvement on many levels, I'm always mindful of useful aphorisms to help foster growth. One good one is that "actions dictate outcomes, but thoughts dictate actions."
In personal finance as in the rest of life, how you think determines how you act, and consequently, the results you get.
Quite simply, if [...]

Read the full article →

Should You Keep Multiple Investment Accounts?

Thumbnail image for Should You Keep Multiple Investment Accounts?

In the past, when we've talked about diversifying your investments to manage risk and preserve wealth, it's been in relation to multiple asset classes or industry sectors for equities.
But what about the equally obvious strategy of spreading your investments around, and maintaining separate accounts at different institutions?
Amongst high net worth individuals, it's commonplace to divvy [...]

Read the full article →

Using Coupons and Calendars for Big Savings

Thumbnail image for Using Coupons and Calendars for Big Savings

Years ago, a friend far more driven by money than I am shared with me this saying: "Pennies become nickels, and dimes become dollars."
His point, of course, is that putting together a lot of small savings or a lot of small profits adds up to something big.
In order to cultivate a frugal mindset, you need [...]

Read the full article →

Diversify Your Investments. No, Really, We Mean It

Thumbnail image for Diversify Your Investments. No, Really, We Mean It

Diversifying your portfolio is one of the most fundamental pieces of an investment strategy. It's essentially the old aphorism that says you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.
The underlying motive for diversification is to reduce risk: by having your investments spread between different funds, equities, or financial instruments, your portfolio is less exposed [...]

Read the full article →

There Is No Level Playing Field

Thumbnail image for There Is No Level Playing Field

In recent weeks, the business media has been host to a rising tide of faux-outrage at perceived injustices in the financial marketplace.
A lot of column-inches have been devoted to High Frequency Trading and, more recently, a tempest in a teapot has been brewing over bond-flipping by originators and institutional investors.
Arguments like these are far from [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries