24 years ago, I quit my job at IBM’s East Fishkill semiconductor facility to go to work for a small, high tech company in California. It wasn’t an easy decision at the time. I had grown up in an IBM family in the Hudson Valley. IBM was in my blood. At that time, very few […]
Are You Your Own Worst Enemy
I am often asked my prediction for the market. I typically tell people the truth: I don’t know what the market will do, especially for the short term. Good news doesn’t necessarily translate into higher stock prices, and conversely, bad news doesn’t always translate into lower prices. Honestly, I don’t believe anyone can predict the […]
AMAT – TEL Merger: Effect on Stockholders
Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron plan to complete their corporate merger in the second half of 2014. The new company will be called Eteris and will be incorporated in the Netherlands. This is another example of American corporations merging with foreign corporations and reincorporating overseas. The result for the corporation is lower taxes since many […]
Help! My Restricted Stock Units Just Vested. What Do I Do?
Many employees in the Bay Area, especially in Silicon Valley, have restricted stock units (RSUs) that have been granted to them by their employer. These RSUs are one method that your company uses to retain talent. Back in the 1990s, many companies used stock options for this purpose, but these have largely been replaced by […]
Are Markets Rigged Against You?
There has been a lot of news coverage of High Frequency Trading (HFT) and its effects on the markets following the publication of Michael Lewis’ new book, Flash Boys. Mr. Lewis is a well-respected financial journalist who has written several books about the market and investing including Liar’s Poker and The Big Short. Mr. Lewis’ contention […]
L Squared Wealth Management is Born!
On Friday, March 7, L Squared Wealth Management LLC was officially approved by California as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA)! We are now officially open for business. The genesis of L Squared Wealth Management started about six months ago. When I looked at the various financial firms out there, I was not excited. Too often, […]