DIY or Hire a Financial Advisor?
I don't prepare my own taxes. I'm not incapable of learning. I've done the math on a 1040. I understand depreciation schedules and capital gains treatment. But I use an accountant because the cost of getting it wrong is high, and my time is worth more spent elsewhere. That trade-off makes sense to me, and I've never second-guessed it. I also don't represent myself when I need legal advice. I don't rewire my own house. I don't pull my own teeth. So I've always found it curious that people draw the line at investment management — that this one discipline, [...]
Investing Is Not What Most People Think It Is
Most of us know someone who tries to fix their own car, rewire a light fixture, or argue their own case in court. Sometimes it works out. Often it doesn't. The honest reason is that skilled trades and professions exist because they require knowledge, experience, and judgment that take years to develop. Investing is one of those fields. It looks approachable — you open an account, you buy something, you watch a number on a screen. But the judgment required to do it well is harder than it looks, and a few common misunderstandings can cost people significantly over time. [...]
Tariffs, Trade, and What We’re Watching
Trade policy has moved to the center of the economic conversation, and with good reason. The tariff increases announced in early 2025, and the ongoing negotiations that followed, represent a meaningful shift in the cost structure facing many U.S. businesses. We want to explain how we think about this environment, what it means for our portfolio decisions, and where we think the real risks lie. What Tariffs Actually Do A tariff is a tax on imported goods. The company importing those goods pays the tariff, and depending on the competitive dynamics of their market, they may pass some or all [...]
The 5 Ps of Rational Investing: What Matters Most
It’s hard to be rational when investing, ESPECIALLY when emotions seem to drive the markets. We’ve written about rational versus emotional investing in “The Game of the Stock Market vs. The Business of Investing” and “When Emotions Hijack Your Investment Returns,” but we have distilled those ideas into the Five P’s of Rational Investing. The interesting thing about market cycles isn’t just how they unfold—it’s also how investors respond to them. By nature, investors become complacent when markets are strong and panic when markets take a downturn. Both responses undermine long-term success. The best investors do something different. They maintain [...]
Navigating Market Noise: The Challenge of Separating Signals from Distractions
In the fast-paced world of investing, one of the most crucial skills is learning to distinguish between meaningful market signals and temporary distractions. Recent discussions among our investment team highlighted this ongoing challenge and the nuanced approach required to navigate today's information-rich environment. The Nature of Market Distractions Market participants face a constant barrage of what we call "distractions" – pop culture events, policy announcements, speculation on Federal Reserve moves, and other news that can dominate headlines and investor attention. While these events may seem significant at the moment, many prove to be temporary diversions from the underlying economic and [...]
When Emotions Hijack Your Investment Returns
There's a paradox at the heart of investing that costs people millions: their investments often perform far better than they do. An investment strategy might beat the market by 3% annually, yet the average investor in that strategy loses money. The culprit? Emotions. Fear is a powerful force. It whispers in our ears during market volatility, urging us to abandon our strategy at precisely the wrong moment. It convinces us that this time is different—that the rules we established in calmer moments no longer apply. It transforms a rational investment process into an emotional roller coaster where we buy high [...]
Letter to My Daughters: On Stocks and Bonds
We’ve looked at planning and goal setting, identifying and defining risk, and what it takes to earn a living and generate sufficient income that you can start saving. But what can you do with your money once you’ve earned it and NOT spent it? You can lend the money to someone (who will use that loan to make money of their own), or you can own a piece of something (hopefully something productive). That’s it. Everything offered as an investment product or investment vehicle is derived from either lending or owning, or some combination of the two. Loans are things [...]
Three Words That Define Us
I remember when Ron and Bev Morrow were creating the logo, and Ron wanted something simple and rational that spoke to the engineer in him. The equilateral triangle inside the regular quadrilateral (square) did that, and the colors black and white were simple, clear, and clean. I don’t think there was more to it than that at the time, but the three sides of the triangle relate to the three words of our motto. It’s accidental but true. I always thought the motto was a veiled reference to Ben Graham’s book for the layman, “The Intelligent Investor.” But Ron saw [...]
Your Picky Purchasing Agent in a World of Games
Every day, you're bombarded with investment advice. Financial news channels flash stock tickers and breaking market updates. Social media influencers tout the latest "can't miss" opportunities. Your inbox fills with newsletters promising to reveal the next big winner. Everyone seems to have an opinion about where you should put your money. Here's the problem: most of these people aren't paid to make you money. They're paid to sell newspapers, generate clicks, entertain audiences, or move financial products. The only group that publishes the actual results of their advice? Professional money managers who are paid to manage other people's money. We've [...]
What Makes Muhlenkamp Different
I periodically get this question from people interested in our firm. (I never get this question from existing clients—they already know.) And it's a hard question to answer because it begs a return question: "Different from whom?" We're not very different from the active value firms with good long-term track records and a consistent investment discipline. I can name half a dozen of them, and the only difference tends to be in how we determine "value." We're not very different from client-focused advisors. We are fiduciaries and have adopted "Know Your Client" policies to ensure a good client/manager fit. We [...]