LifeStyle | The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants

Just Another Doctor Joke!

Posted on December 30, 2019 by Editor-in-Chief

Sad – But True

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Rationalism VERSUS Empiricism

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Editor-in-Chief

PHILOSOPHY – What is Knowledge?

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MORE: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2019/05/14/what-is-epistemic-ambivalence/

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Filed under: iMBA, Inc., LifeStyle | Tagged: Empiricism, epistemology, Rationalism | Leave a comment »

Understanding Leases

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Editor-in-Chief

An Important Money Skill

By Rick Kahler CFP

“Some days adulting is a pain.” What parent of college-age children hasn’t heard something similar from their kids? The transition from kid to adult is a necessary process toward living a fulfilled and meaningful life, but it isn’t easy or smooth.

This is especially true when it comes to money. Mastering money skills can be a challenge even for older adults.

One of the earliest opportunities to learn adult financial skills comes with renting an apartment. Before you sign that first lease—or any lease—it’s important to understand it. A lease is a legal document that sets out obligations and rights for both landlord and tenant.

One of the most important features of a lease is the length of the agreement. Your lease could be “month-to-month” or for a specific period like a few months or even several years. The most common residential lease terms are six months to one year.

There are pluses and minuses to both types. A month-to-month lease gives the renter the minimum commitment and maximum flexibility. Usually, if you want to move out for whatever reason, you just need to give the landlord a 30-day notice. Unlike a longer-term lease, there is no penalty for “breaking” the lease unless you fail to give even a 30-day notice.

So why wouldn’t a tenant always want a month-to-month lease? Many tenants don’t understand that the flexibility goes both ways. If a landlord chooses to stop leasing the property, finds a tenant willing to pay higher rent, or decides to sell the property, all the lease requires is a 30-day notice for the current tenant to move out. A tenant must accept that risk.

A recent local example concerned 11 house renters who lived on the campus of the Star Academy, a former state-owned property near Custer, SD. Some of the tenants had rented for 14 years with month-to-month leases. When the state foreclosed on the property it gave the tenants 30-day notices to move. This was not received well by the renters, who faced the prospect of immediately having to find new places to live in a town with a limited supply of housing. Fortunately, the governor reversed the decision and gave the renters six months to find new housing.

As shocking and heartless as this move might have seemed to the renters, it was completely within the rights of the landlord, just as it would have been completely within the rights of any of the tenants to do the same.

It’s easy to get lulled to sleep by a month-to-month lease, especially when a tenant has lived in the property for year after year. However, if the prospect of having to vacate your home in 30 days is not appealing, it would be a really good idea to ask the landlord for a longer lease.

Assessment:

Before signing a lease, consider how long you are willing to commit to living in the property. What will best serve your situation? For some, it may be a lease that expires at the end of a school year, or in a year, or even in three to five years if you see no reason that you will need to move anytime soon. Be aware that by signing the lease, you agree to stay and to pay rent until the time is up.

Also understand that, unless the lease specifically states otherwise, neither you nor the landlord are bound to renew when the lease expires. So it’s important to renegotiate a new lease well before the current lease expires.

Before signing any lease, read it carefully. Ask clarifying questions. Be sure you understand the legal commitment you are making.

Conclusion

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Filed under: Experts Invited, Financial Planning, LifeStyle | Tagged: apartment leases, leasing | Leave a comment »

The “Halloween Indicator” [Investment Strategy]

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Editor-in-Chief

What it is – How it works?

[By staff reporters]

Sell in May and go away is an investment strategy for stocks based on a theory (sometimes known as the Halloween indicator) that the period from November to April inclusive has significantly stronger growth on average than the other months.

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“DANCE OF DEATH”

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The Strategy

In such strategies, stocks are sold at the start of May and the proceeds held in cash (e.g. a money market fund); stocks are bought again in the autumn, typically around Halloween. “Sell in May” can be characterised as the belief that it is better to avoid holding stock during the summer period.

Though this seasonality is often mentioned informally, it has largely been ignored in academic circles (perhaps being assumed to be a mere superstition). Nonetheless analysis by Bouman and Jacobsen (2002) shows that the effect has indeed occurred in 36 out of 37 countries examined, and since the 17th century (1694) in the United Kingdom; it is strongest in Europe. While the effect may reflect a failure of the efficient-market hypothesis, alternatives exist such as small sample size or time variation in expected stock market returns.

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Causes the Effect

Although it’s not clear what causes the effect, what’s most interesting is that it shows that stock market returns in many countries during the period May–October are systematically negative or lower than the short-term interest rate, which also goes against the efficient-market hypothesis. Stock market returns should not be predictably lower than the short-term interest rate (risk free rate).

Popular media often refer to this market wisdom in the month of May, claiming that in the six months to come things will be different and the pattern will not show.

However, as the effect has been strongly present in most developed markets (including the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and most European countries) in the last decade – especially May–October 2009 – these claims are often proved wrong.

That said, between April 30 and October 30, 2009, the FTSE 100 gained 20% (from 4,189.59 to 5,044.55)

Academics

The effect has largely been ignored in academic circles. The idea contradicts much established theory, especially the efficient-market hypothesis.

Maberly and Pierce extended the data to April 2003. They also tested the strategy for April 1982 through April 2003 except for two months, October 1987 and August 1998. They found that it doesn’t work well in the time period April 1982–September 1987 plus November 1987–July 1998 plus September 1998–April 2003.^[7] Other regression models using the same data but controlling for extreme outliers have found the Halloween effect to still be significant.^[8]

“Sell in May and go away” has persisted as a profitable market-timing strategy for stock investors, according to a follow-up study by Andrade, Chhaochharia and Fuerst (2012). They find that the Sell-in-May seasonal pattern persists after the end of Bouman and Jacobsen’s (2002) sample. This is important in showing that the Halloween effect is not a statistical fluke detected by data mining. Strikingly, in the 1998–2012 sample on average November–April returns are larger than May–October returns in all 37 markets they study. On average, the difference is equal to about 10% percentage points. Also strikingly, the magnitude of the difference is the same in Bouman and Jacobsen’s (2002) and in the out-of-sample analysis of Andrade, Chhaochharia and Fuerst (2012). Further backtesting by Mebane Faber has shown this effect has been in place since 1950.

Source: Sell in May – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/best-6-months-for-stocks-could-be-right-around-the-corner/ar-BBmma2Y?li=AA4Zjn&ocid=U348DHP

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Is Another [Double-Dip] Stock Market Crash Looming? The Hindenburg Omen!

Even More:

Much More:

Assessment

Was this indicator appropriate for 2018?

Conclusion

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

PRACTICES: www.BusinessofMedicalPractice.com
HOSPITALS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466558731
CLINICS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900
ADVISORS: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org
FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors
Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance
Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security
Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care

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Filed under: Investing, LifeStyle | Tagged: Halloween Index, Halloween indicator, Hindenburg Omen | 3 Comments »

Five Ways to Protect Your Vehicle’s Exterior from Dings, Scrapes and Grime

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Editor-in-Chief

But, Don’t be Obsessive

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA with Nalley Collision Center, GA.

Some automobile owners, like me and other medical professionals, take pride in their cars. Regardless of whether you bought a new car from the showroom or bought your car used, you want to keep your vehicle looking like new for a long time.

Unfortunately, modern life is the enemy of a great-looking car. Tar and stones from roadways can wreak havoc on beautiful finishes. Other drivers can carelessly dent your car in hospital or mall parking lots, and refuse to accept responsibility for the damage. Debris flying out of trucks, birds, and other problems add to the long list of threats to your car.

The Steps

Rather than accepting dings, scrapes and grime on your car as a fact of life, follow these five steps to keep the exterior of your car looking fabulous.

1. Get Covered

Rain, snow, and sunshine can all adversely affect the exterior of your car. You can do little about the weather while driving your car, but when you get home, you can cover your car to protect its beautiful finish. Although garages offer the best protection against outside forces for your car, you might find out that you can get similar results by using a car port or a portable garage. A portable garage is a flexible cover that you can put over your vehicle to protect its exterior while not in use.

2. Paint Protection Film

Special products exist that help protect the finish of your car at all times, even while you drive. Paint protection film creates a layer of protection between the exterior surfaces of your car and the environment, so your car can withstand an array of road hazards. This type of product eliminates expensive trips to your dealer’s body shop for touchup work and preserves the resale value of your car.

3. Wash Your Car

Although a carwash can put the exterior of your car in jeopardy, it can help prevent harmful grime build up. If you care a lot for your car, you will give it a loving hand-wash, detail and wax periodically to keep its finish looking great. While you wash, you can look for new scrapes and dents that either you or your dealer can quickly repair before they become ugly and embarrassing.

4. Cautious Parking

Parking lots pose some of the most severe threats to auto exteriors. It is my pet peeve. Regardless of how carefully you park, someone else will come along and park too close to your car, giving your car a free dent. Although often minor, parking-lot damage can cost a lot to repair. Motorists these days live with the fear that a claim will cause their insurance premiums to rise, so they might not take responsibility for denting or scraping your car.

It’s time to take parking into your own hands. You can try taking up two spots when you park, making it impossible for other car doors to reach your vehicle. Also, you can park far away from other cars where most people will never park. The long walk will give you valuable health benefits, and the remote parking spot can help prevent damage to your car.

5. Common Sense

Your best defense against scrapes, dents, and grime might reside under your own hat. Common sense should tell you to avoid roads while they undergo paving line-painting work. Avoid attempting to enter narrow alleys and resist the temptation to drive up to your mailbox when you get home at the end of the day. Never drive your car near trees and bushes. Always avoid dirt or gravel roads. Also, keep your garage and carport clear of tools and other objects that can easily fall and damage your car.

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