SILVER: Role in a Diversified Investment Portfolio

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

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Silver occupies a distinctive position within the realm of investment assets, functioning simultaneously as a precious metal and an industrial commodity. This dual nature imbues silver with characteristics that make it a valuable component of a diversified portfolio, offering both defensive qualities and growth potential. While its volatility necessitates careful consideration, silver’s unique attributes warrant attention from investors seeking balance between risk mitigation and opportunity.

Silver as a Hybrid Asset

Unlike gold, which is primarily regarded as a store of value, silver derives a substantial portion of its demand from industrial applications. It is indispensable in sectors such as electronics, renewable energy, and medical technology, with photovoltaic cells in solar panels representing a particularly significant driver of consumption. This industrial utility ensures that silver’s price is influenced not only by macroeconomic uncertainty but also by technological innovation and global manufacturing trends. Consequently, silver provides investors with exposure to both traditional safe-haven dynamics and cyclical industrial growth.

Accessibility and Cost Efficiency

Silver’s affordability relative to gold enhances its appeal to a broad spectrum of investors. Physical silver, in the form of coins and bars, allows individuals with modest capital to participate in the precious metals market. Moreover, financial instruments such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mining equities provide liquid and scalable avenues for investment. This accessibility ensures that silver can serve as an entry point into alternative assets, particularly for those seeking to hedge against inflation without committing substantial resources.

Inflation Hedge and Currency Protection

Historically, silver has demonstrated resilience during periods of inflation and currency depreciation. As fiat currencies lose purchasing power, tangible assets such as silver tend to appreciate, preserving wealth for investors. Although gold is often considered the primary hedge, silver’s similar properties, combined with its lower cost, render it a practical complement. In times of geopolitical instability or monetary expansion, silver can function as a safeguard against systemic risks.

Volatility and Associated Risks

Despite its advantages, silver is characterized by pronounced price volatility. Its smaller market size relative to gold renders it more susceptible to speculative trading and abrupt shifts in investor sentiment. Furthermore, fluctuations in industrial demand can amplify short-term price movements. While this volatility can generate significant returns, it also exposes investors to heightened risk. Accordingly, silver is best employed as a long-term holding within a diversified portfolio rather than as a vehicle for short-term speculation.

Portfolio Diversification and Investment Vehicles

Incorporating silver into a portfolio enhances diversification by introducing an asset class with low correlation to equities and fixed income securities. This non-correlation reduces overall portfolio risk and provides stability during market downturns. Investors may access silver through several channels: physical bullion for tangible ownership, ETFs for liquidity, mining stocks for leveraged exposure, and futures contracts for advanced strategies. Each vehicle entails distinct risk-reward profiles, enabling investors to tailor their approach according to objectives and tolerance.

Conclusion

Silver’s dual identity as both a precious metal and an industrial commodity distinguishes it from other investment assets. Its affordability, inflation-hedging capacity, and diversification benefits make it a compelling addition to portfolios. While volatility requires prudent management, silver’s potential to balance defensive and growth-oriented strategies underscores its enduring relevance in contemporary investment practice.

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SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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REAL-WORLD FINANCE: How Some RNs Can Retire Richer Than Physicians

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

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For generations, the prevailing belief in healthcare has been that physicians [MD, DO and DPM], with their high salaries and prestige, inevitably retire wealthier than nurses. Yet this assumption overlooks the financial realities of different nursing specialties and the long‑term impact of debt, lifestyle, and retirement planning. In fact, some Registered Nurses (RNs)—particularly Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), visiting nurses, and those who participate in structured pay programs like the Baylor plan—can retire richer than physicians. The reasons lie in the interplay of education costs, career flexibility, income potential, and disciplined financial planning.

Education Costs and Debt Burden

One of the most decisive factors shaping retirement wealth is the cost of education. Physicians often spend over a decade in training, including undergraduate studies, medical school, and residency. This path not only delays their earning years but also saddles them with substantial student debt. The median medical school debt in the United States exceeds $200,000, and many physicians spend years paying it down.

By contrast, RNs typically complete their training in two to four years, with advanced practice nurses such as CRNAs requiring graduate‑level education. Even so, their debt burden is far lighter, often less than half of what physicians carry. This difference means nurses can begin earning earlier, save for retirement sooner, and avoid the crushing interest payments that erode physicians’ wealth. A CRNA who starts practicing in their late twenties may already be investing in retirement accounts while a physician is still in residency earning a modest stipend.

Income Potential of Specialized Nurses

While physicians generally earn more annually than nurses, the gap is narrower in certain specialties. CRNAs, for example, are among the highest‑paid nursing professionals, with average salaries often exceeding $200,000 per year. This places them in direct competition with some physician specialties, especially primary care doctors, who may earn similar or even lower salaries.

Visiting nurses also benefit from unique financial advantages. Many work on flexible schedules, contract arrangements, or per‑visit compensation models. This allows them to maximize income while minimizing burnout. By avoiding the overhead costs of private practice and the administrative burdens physicians face, visiting nurses can channel more of their earnings directly into savings and investments.

When combined with lower debt and earlier career starts, these income streams can compound into significant retirement wealth.

💰 Highest-Paying Nursing Careers (2025)

  • Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) – ~$212,000 annually
  • Nurse Practitioner (NP) – $120,000–$140,000+ depending on specialty (Family, Acute Care, Psychiatric)
  • Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) – $120,000–$135,000
  • Nurse Midwife – ~$115,000
  • Nurse Manager/Administrator – $110,000–$120,000
  • Informatics Nurse Specialist – ~$115,000
  • Neonatal ICU Nurse (NICU) – $110,000+
  • ICU Nurse – $105,000+
  • Pain Management Nurse – ~$104,000
  • Oncology Nurse – ~$100,000

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The Baylor Pay Plan Advantage

The Baylor plan, a structured pay program used by some hospitals, allows nurses to work full‑time hours compressed into fewer days—often weekends—while still receiving full‑time pay and benefits. This arrangement provides several financial advantages. First, it enables nurses to earn competitive wages while freeing up weekdays for additional work, education, or entrepreneurial ventures. Second, it reduces commuting and childcare costs, allowing more income to be saved. Third, the plan often includes robust retirement benefits, such as employer‑matched contributions to 401(k) or pension programs.

Nurses who consistently participate in such structured pay plans can accumulate substantial nest eggs, often surpassing physicians who delay retirement savings due to debt repayment or lifestyle inflation. The Baylor plan highlights the importance of systematic investing: by automating contributions and focusing on long‑term growth, nurses can harness the power of compound interest. A nurse who invests steadily for 35 years may accumulate more wealth than a physician who begins saving late and inconsistently, despite earning a higher salary.

Lifestyle and Work‑Life Balance

Another overlooked factor is lifestyle. Physicians often face grueling schedules, high stress, and the temptation to maintain expensive lifestyles commensurate with their social status. Luxury homes, cars, and vacations can erode their financial base. Nurses, while not immune to lifestyle inflation, often maintain more modest spending habits.

Visiting nurses, in particular, enjoy flexibility that allows them to balance work with personal life. This reduces burnout and healthcare costs while enabling consistent employment into later years. By living within their means and prioritizing savings, nurses can accumulate wealth steadily without the financial pitfalls that sometimes accompany physician lifestyles.

Retirement Wealth Beyond Salary

Retirement wealth is not solely determined by annual income. It is shaped by debt management, savings discipline, investment strategies, and lifestyle choices. Nurses who leverage high‑paying specialties like anesthesia, flexible arrangements like visiting nursing, and structured programs like the Baylor plan can outperform physicians in these areas.

Consider two professionals: a physician earning $250,000 annually but burdened by $200,000 in debt and high living expenses, and a CRNA earning $200,000 with minimal debt and disciplined savings. Over decades, the CRNA may accumulate more net wealth, retire earlier, and enjoy greater financial security.

Conclusion

The assumption that physicians always retire richer than nurses is outdated. While physicians command higher salaries, their delayed earnings, heavy debt, and lifestyle pressures often undermine long‑term wealth. Nurses, particularly CRNAs, visiting nurses, and those who participate in structured pay programs like the Baylor plan, can retire wealthier by combining lower debt, earlier savings, competitive incomes, and disciplined financial planning.

Ultimately, retirement wealth is not about prestige but about strategy. Nurses who recognize this truth and act accordingly may find themselves enjoying more financial freedom than the very physicians they once assisted.

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SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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BAD MONEY MOVES of Physicians!

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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Money is a powerful tool. It can provide security, open opportunities, and help build a fulfilling life. Yet, when mismanaged, it can quickly become a source of stress and regret. Understanding the worst ways to use money is essential for anyone who wants to avoid financial pitfalls and build lasting stability.

1. Impulse Spending

One of the most damaging habits is spending without thought. Buying items on impulse—whether it’s clothes, gadgets, or luxury goods—often leads to regret and wasted resources. These purchases rarely align with long‑term goals and can drain savings meant for emergencies or investments.

2. High‑Interest Debt

Credit cards and payday loans can trap people in cycles of debt. Paying 20% or more in interest means that even small purchases balloon into massive financial burdens. Using debt irresponsibly is one of the fastest ways to erode wealth.

3. Ignoring Savings and Investments

Failing to save for the future is another critical mistake. Without an emergency fund, unexpected expenses like medical bills or car repairs can derail financial stability. Similarly, neglecting investments means missing out on compound growth that builds wealth over time.

4. Chasing Get‑Rich‑Quick Schemes

From pyramid schemes to speculative “hot tips,” chasing unrealistic returns is a recipe for disaster. These schemes prey on greed and impatience, often leaving participants with nothing but losses. Sustainable wealth comes from patience and discipline, not shortcuts.

5. Overspending on Status

Many people waste money trying to impress others—buying luxury cars, designer clothes, or extravagant experiences they cannot afford. This pursuit of status often leads to debt and financial insecurity, while providing only fleeting satisfaction.

6. Neglecting Insurance

Skipping health, auto, or home insurance to save money may seem smart in the short term, but it can be catastrophic when disaster strikes. Without protection, one accident or emergency can wipe out years of savings.

7. Failing to Budget

Living without a plan is like sailing without a map. Without a budget, it’s easy to overspend, miss bills, or fail to allocate money toward goals. Budgeting is not restrictive—it’s empowering, because it ensures money is used intentionally.

8. Ignoring Education and Skills

Spending money without investing in personal growth is another hidden mistake. Education, training, and skill development often yield lifelong returns. Neglecting these opportunities can limit earning potential and financial independence.

Conclusion

The worst things to do with money often stem from short‑term thinking, lack of discipline, or the desire for instant gratification. Impulse spending, high‑interest debt, chasing schemes, and neglecting savings all undermine financial health. By avoiding these traps and focusing on budgeting, investing wisely, and protecting against risks, money can serve as a foundation for security and freedom rather than a source of stress.

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EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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The Hidden Risk of Trusting Friends in Finance

Posted on November 2, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Here’s a risk to your financial health that may surprise you!

Rick Kahler MS CFP

By Rick Kahler CFP™

There are two reasons for this.

First, we tend to trust and rely on people we know.

Second, research finds that humans have a deep-seated desire to meet the needs of others, so “helping” a relative or friend get started in their financial sales career is just human nature. Unfortunately, brokerage and insurance companies know this. They train their new agents that the easiest sales to make when getting started are to relatives and friends.

Any time I find an ill-advised financial product a client has purchased from a relative or friend, I cringe, anticipating the client’s resistance to canceling it. Regardless of how bad the advice was or how outrageous the fees of an investment product may be, the deeper the relationship the more difficulty there will be in changing course.

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Here’s a typical example 

Jim and Sofia, two young professionals, married at around the same time Jim’s uncle went to work for a financial services company. The uncle sold Jim a $250,000 Variable Universal Life (VUL) policy with a $500 monthly premium. Jim and Sofia were happy, thinking they had made a prudent choice to start saving for retirement and help out a relative at the same time.

When Sofia became pregnant, the couple decided to engage a fee-only financial planner. She found they were under insured to provide for a family and also that the VUL policy was incredibly expensive and ill-advised for their needs. She recommended canceling the VUL policy with its $500 monthly premium, instead paying $300 monthly for two $1 million term life insurance policies and putting $200 a month into a tax-free Roth IRA.

Sofia and Jim told this to their uncle, who was “shocked” at the planner’s “poor advice.”

He contended that any competent financial planner would know a person needs permanent insurance as a foundation to “raise their child in the case of a premature death, fund their retirement, pay estate taxes and just like a Roth, it is tax free.”
Sadly, the uncle was unwilling to admit that $250,000 of insurance wouldn’t be enough to raise their child, fund their retirement, and pay estate taxes; nor was it truly tax free. He also didn’t mention that he had a vested interest in their keeping the policy. While he probably earned 55% to 100% of the first year’s commission, it is common practice that an agent will also receive 10-15% of the annual premium from years 2-10.

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Sofia and Jim agreed with the financial planner’s recommendation. They could see the sense in having $1 million of insurance on each of them instead of $250,000 on just Jim for almost half the price, plus the tax-free growth of $200 a month in the Roth IRA.

Yet they didn’t follow the planner’s advice, because they didn’t want to upset their uncle. They chose to weaken their financial health, plus risk the well-being of their family if one of them died prematurely, in order to enrich their uncle for fear of offending him.

This happens more frequently than you would think. And it isn’t limited to life insurance. I’ve seen clients invest in a variety of “opportunities,” based on advice from a family member, that were not in their best interest.

Assessment

Next time a friend or family member offers to sell you a financial product or give you some great advice, you may want to do yourself a favor and decline. If you really want to help them out, invite them over for dinner.

Conclusion
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Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com

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Rethinking Productivity in Wealth Management

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Vitaliy Katsenelsen CFA

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One of the biggest hazards of being a professional money manager is that you are expected to behave in a certain way.

One of the biggest hazards of being a professional money manager is that you are expected to behave in a certain way: You have to come to the office every day, work long hours, slog through countless emails, be on top of your portfolio (that is, check performance of your securities minute by minute), watch business TV and consume news continuously, and dress well and conservatively, wearing a rope around the only part of your body that lets air get to your brain. Our colleagues judge us on how early we arrive at work and how late we stay. We do these things because society expects us to, not because they make us better investors or do any good for our clients.

Somehow we let the mindless, Henry Ford–assembly-line, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., widgets-per-hour mentality dictate how we conduct our business thinking. Though car production benefits from rigid rules, uniforms, automation and strict working hours, in investing — the business of thinking — the assembly-line culture is counterproductive. Our clients and employers would be better off if we designed our workdays to let us perform our best.

Investing is not an idea-­per-hour profession; it more likely results in a few ideas per year. A traditional, structured working environment creates pressure to produce an output — an idea, even a forced idea. Warren Buffett once said at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting: “We don’t get paid for activity; we get paid for being right. As to how long we’ll wait, we’ll wait indefinitely.”

How you get ideas is up to you. I am not a professional writer, but as a professional money manager, I learn and think best through writing. I put on my headphones, turn on opera and stare at my computer screen for hours, pecking away at the keyboard — that is how I think. You may do better by walking in the park or sitting with your legs up on the desk, staring at the ceiling.

I do my best thinking in the morning. At 3:00 in the afternoon, my brain shuts off; that is when I read my emails. We are all different. My best friend is a brunch person; he needs to consume six cups of coffee in the morning just to get his brain going. To be most productive, he shouldn’t go to work before 11:00 a.m.

And then there’s the business news. Serious business news that lacked sensationalism, and thus ratings, has been replaced by a new genre: business entertainment (of course, investors did not get the memo). These shows do a terrific job of filling our need to have explanations for everything, even random events that require no explanation (like daily stock movements). Most information on the business entertainment channels — Bloomberg Television, CNBC, Fox Business — has as much value for investors as daily weather forecasts have for travelers who don’t intend to go anywhere for a year.

Yet many managers have CNBC, Fox or Bloomberg TV/Internet streaming on while they work.

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Understanding Investment Apps: A Guide for Beginners

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

DEFINITIONS

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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SPONSOR: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

An app, which is short for “application,” is a type of software that can be installed and run on a computer, tablet, smartphone or other electronic devices. An app most frequently refers to a mobile application or a piece of software that is installed and used on a computer. Most apps have a specific and narrow function.

BROKE DOCTORS: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2025/08/02/doctors-going-broke-and-living-paycheck-to-paycheck/

Robo-Advisors

An easy and fairly cheap way for novices to get into investing is to use a robo-advisor. Basically, the funds you contribute will be invested by an algorithm based upon your goals, which are usually determined by taking a survey. This helps keep fees low; the algorithm doesn’t rely on a human expert to make trades, and you don’t have to spend significant amounts of time researching your investments. While this is a good way to start, it may not be the best option in the long run.

Online Brokerage or Investment Apps

More options are becoming available all the time, and they have opened trading to a much larger percentage of the population. That is a great thing, but it’s important to remember that “easier to invest” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to invest well.

Be wary of apps that “gamify” trading and encourage risky choices. Keep in mind that trusted names offer more security, so do your research when you are selecting a platform.

POOR DOCTORS: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2024/04/04/why-physicians-do-not-get-rich/

Investing should be taken seriously, and we encourage you to have a good working relationship with a human financial services professional.

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DAILY UPDATE: Private Market Investment Retirement Plans Up Along with Stock Markets

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

MEDICAL EXECUTIVE-POST – TODAY’S NEWSLETTER BRIEFING

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Essays, Opinions and Curated News in Health Economics, Investing, Business, Management and Financial Planning for Physician Entrepreneurs and their Savvy Advisors and Consultants

“Serving Almost One Million Doctors, Financial Advisors and Medical Management Consultants Daily“

A Partner of the Institute of Medical Business Advisors , Inc.

http://www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

SPONSORED BY: Marcinko & Associates, Inc.

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Daily Update Provided By Staff Reporters Since 2007.
How May We Serve You?
© Copyright Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc. All rights reserved. 2025

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CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

Stocks up

  • Lucid exploded 36.24% higher on the news that the EV maker is partnering with Uber to roll out the ridesharing company’s new robotaxis.
  • PepsiCo popped 7.45% thanks to a strong quarter for the snack and soda giant, while shareholders cheered the details of its turnaround plan.
  • United Airlines may have missed Wall Street’s revenue forecast, but its profits were enough to impress investors. Shares rose 3.11%.
  • Reports that Union Pacific is thinking about acquiring a rival sent shares of fellow train operators CSX and Norfolk Southern up 3.73% and 3.65%, respectively.
  • Sarepta Therapeutics soared 19.53% after the biotech announced it will lay off 500 employees and restructure its entire business.
  • Quantumscape continued its hot streak, rising yet another 19.82% thanks to its recent battery breakthrough.
  • Speaking of hot streaks, OpenDoor Technologies rose another 10.74% as retail traders pour into what is quickly becoming the next big meme stock.

Stocks down

  • GE Aerospace crushed earnings expectations and raised its fiscal guidance, but it still wasn’t enough to impress investors, who pushed shares of the engine maker down 2.10%.
  • US Bancorp sank 1.03% after revenue and net interest income missed forecasts last quarter.
  • Abbott Laboratories beat on both top and bottom line guidance, but still fell 8.53% after the pharma company narrowed its fiscal forecasts.
  • Elevance Health tumbled 12.22% af

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/2h47urt5

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days designed to help make private-market investments more available to U.S. retirement plans, according to people familiar with the matter. The order would instruct the Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide guidance to employers and plan administrators on including investments like private assets in 401(k) plans.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/tj8smmes

Visualize: How private equity tangled banks in a web of debt, from the Financial Times.

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MORE INVESTING TERMS: All Doctors Should Know

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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Here is a list of the most common and helpful investment terms you’ll come across and should know.

  • Ask. The price that someone looking to sell stock wants to receive.
  • Bid. The price that someone is willing to pay for stock.
  • Buy. To acquire shares and thereby take a position in a company.
  • Sell. To get rid of shares whether because you’ve reached your goal or to prevent losses.
  • Bull market. Market conditions in which investors expect prices to rise.
  • Bear market. Market conditions in which investors expect prices to fall.
  • Dividend. A portion of a company’s earnings paid to shareholders.
  • Blue chip stocks. Shares of large and well-recognized companies that have a long history of solid financial performance.
  • Earning per share. A company’s net profit divided by the number of outstanding common shares.
  • Mutual fund. A collection of investments — stocks, bonds, commodities, and more — bundled together and held in common by a group of investors.
  • Asset. Something you own that could generate a return in the form of more assets.
  • Asset allocation. Your investment strategy, essentially — the mix of assets you choose to put your money into, whether that be cash, bonds, stocks, commodities, real estate or something else.
  • Broker. A person or firm — or robot — that arranges transactions between buyers and sellers in exchange for a commission (that is, a fee).
  • Capital gain (or capital loss). The money you make (or lose) on the sale of an asset.
  • Diversification. Investing in a variety of sectors, such as health care, energy and IT as well as across different geographic locations.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average. A price-weighted list of 30 blue-chip stocks. It’s often used to help get a sense of the overall health of the stock market, even though it only reflects a small portion of the players.
  • Exchange-traded fund (ETF). A collection of investments that is traded like a stock.
  • Index fund. A type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that allows you to invest in a portfolio that mimics a market index, which is basically a list that tracks the performance of a group of investments either for a specific sector or the overall market.
  • Hedge fund. A type of investment partnership. Partners pool money from investors and try out a few different investing strategies. Generally, hedge funds will make riskier investments than your typical investor. They’ll also often use leverage (that is, borrowed money) or place bets against the market to get bigger returns. They make their money by charging their investors management fees based on a percentage of their profits.
  • Expense ratio. The percentage-based fee that mutual fund managers charge you to manage your investments.
  • Market price. How much it would cost right now to buy or sell an asset or service.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). An independent government body that was created to protect investors and the national banking system. The SEC enforces laws that maintain orderly, fair and efficient markets.
  • Short selling. A tactic available to investors who predict a stock’s price is about to drop. An investor borrows a quantity of shares through a broker and then sells them, intending to repurchase them later, at a lower price, and return them to the lender.
  • Stock exchange. A place buyers and sellers come together to buy, sell and trade stock during set business hours. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the most important stock exchange in the world, but there are a total of 16 exchanges around the world.
  • Stock market. Refers in general to the collection of markets and exchanges where the buying, selling and trading of investment vehicles takes place.
  • Price per share. A simple way of calculating a company’s market value at a given moment. To find the price per share, you take a company’s most recent share price and multiply it by its total number of outstanding shares.
  • Prospectus. A legal document that contains in-depth information about anything you might be planning to invest in: stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

EDUCATION: Books

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT: Definition with Big Pharma Example

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MED CMP™

SPONSOR: wwwCertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

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Crisis Management is the precautions and identification of threats to an organization and its stakeholders, and the methods used by the organization to deal with these threats.

For example, recall in 1982, that Tylenol™ commanded 35 percent of the over-the-counter analgesic market in America and it represented nearly 17 percent of Johnson & Johnson’s profits. But, when seven people died from consuming the tainted drug, a national panic ensued. Moreover, Americans started to question the safety of all over-the-counter medications.

MARKETING, ADVERTISING & SALES: Public Relations, Change and Crisis Management

Fortunately, J&J commenced the proto-typical good crisis response in the following way:

  • J&J acted quickly, with complete candidness about what happened and within hours of learning of the deaths, J&J installed toll-free numbers for consumers, sent alerts to healthcare providers nationwide, and stopped advertising the product. J&J recalled 31 million bottles of Tylenol™ capsules and offered replacement products free of charge. J&J did not wait for evidence to see whether the contamination might be more widespread.
  • J&J’s leadership was in the lead and seemed in full control throughout the crisis. The chairman was admired for his leadership to pull Tylenol™ capsules off the market and his forthrightness in dealing with the media. The Tylenol™ crisis led the news every night on every station for six weeks.
  • J&J placed consumers first. J&J spent more than $100 million for the recall and re-launch of Tylenol™. The stock had been trading near a 52-week high just before the tragedy, dropped for a time, but recovered to its highs only two months later.
  • J&J accepted responsibility. The disaster could have been described in many different ways: as an assault on the company, as a problem somewhere in the process of getting Tylenol™ from J&J factories to retail stores, or as the acts of a crazed criminal.
  • J&J sought to ensure that measures were taken to prevent a recurrence of the problem. J&J introduced tamper-proof packaging that would make it much more difficult for a similar incident to occur in the future.
  • J&J presented itself prepared to handle the short-term damage in the name of consumer safety. Within a year of the disaster, J&J’s share of the analgesic market, which had fallen to 7 percent from 37 percent following the poisoning, had climbed back to 30 percent.

This wildly successful response in now the stuff of graduate and business school case models for excellence in teaching!

EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit a RFP for speaking engagements: MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com 

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CORRELATION: Diversification in Finance and Investments

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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DEFINITION

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Correlation measures the relationship between two investments–the higher the correlation, the more likely they are to move in the same direction for a given set of economic or market events. Correlation, in the finance and investment industries, is a statistic that measures the degree to which two securities move in relation to each other. Correlations are used in advanced portfolio management, computed as the correlation coefficient which has a value that must fall between -1.0 and +1.0.

So if two securities are highly positively correlated, they will move in the same direction the vast majority of the time. Negatively correlated investments do the opposite–as one security rises, the other falls, and vice versa. No correlation means there is no relationship between the movement of two securities–the performance of one security has no bearing on the performance of the other.

CAUSATION: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2024/06/05/correlation-is-not-causation/

Correlation is an important concept for portfolio diversification--combining assets with low or negative correlations can improve risk-adjusted performance over time by providing a diversity of payouts under the same financial conditions.

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ETFs: Alternatively Weighted Investments

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

DEFINITION

By Staff Reporters

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Alternatively Weighted Exchange Traded Funds are designed to track an index that is constructed based on criteria other than market capitalization (the methodology used for most traditional indexes).

Instead, alternatively weighted indexes select and weight securities based on other factors, such as growth, valuation, and price momentum, among others. Examples include:

  • Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA: RSP)
  • SPDR Technology ETF (NYSEARCA: XNTK)
  • First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund (NYSEARCA: FBT)
  • Amplify Online Retail ETF (NASDAQ: IBUY)
  • iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF (NYSEARCA: EUSA)
  • ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (NYSEARCA: EQL)

These may also be known as “smart beta” funds.

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Very Few Stocks UP but Many Stocks DOWN

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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🟢 What’s up

  • Hertz Global soared 56.44% on the news that Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital has taken a $46.5 million stake in the rental car company.
  • Travelers Cos. rose 1.13% in spite of massive losses from California wildfires, which didn’t hurt the insurer’s bottom line as badly as Wall Street feared.
  • Abbott Laboratories gained 2.77% after the pharma company missed sales estimates but still beat earnings forecasts.
  • Gold miners continue to climb as gold keeps hitting new highs. Newmont rose 2.51%, while Gold Fields gained 3.35%.

What’s down

  • Tesla sank 4.94% after the company’s share of EV sales in California fell below 50% in the first quarter, while export controls threaten plans to produce Cybercabs in the US.
  • United Airlines fell 0.01% despite reporting its “best first-quarter financial results in five years,” according to management. The airline took the unique measure of providing two different financial outlooks for the year ahead: one for a stable economy, and one for a recession.
  • Lyft shed just 0.46% on the news that the ride-hailing company is acquiring European taxi app Free Now for $199 million.
  • Interactive Brokers Group reported a 47% increase in trading volume last quarter that helped it beat revenue expectations, but the brokerage still tumbled 8.95% after missing profit forecasts.
  • Palantir gave up some of its recent gains following its big NATO announcement, sinking 5.78% today as investors collected profits.
  • JB Hunt Transport Services’ management team warned that the logistics company sits squarely in the crosshairs of the trade war, pushing shares down 7.68%.
  • Omnicom Group tumbled 7.28% after the advertising firm missed revenue estimates thanks to economic uncertainty.

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PROSPECT THEORY: Physician-Client Empowerment for Financial Decision Making

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS

By Staff Reporters

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Prospect theory is a psychological and behavioral economics theory developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1979. It explains how people make decisions when faced with alternatives involving risk, probability, and uncertainty. According to this theory, decisions are influenced by perceived losses or gains.

Example:

Amanda, a DO client, was just informed by her financial advisor that she needed to re-launch her 403-b retirement plan. Since she was leery about investing, she quietly wondered why she couldn’t DIY. Little does her FA know that she doesn’t intend to follow his advice, anyway! So, what went wrong?

The answer may be that her advisor didn’t deploy a behavioral economics framework to support her decision-making. One such framework is the “prospect theory” model that boils client decision-making into a “three step heuristic.”
 
Prospect theory makes the unspoken biases that we all have more explicit. By identifying all the background assumptions and preferences that clients [patients] bring to the office, decision-making can be crafted so that everyone [family, doctor and patient] or [FA, client and spouse] is on the same page. Briefly, the three steps are:

1. Simplify choices by focusing on the key differences between investment [treatment] options such as stock, bonds, cash, and index funds. 

2. Understanding that clients [patients] prefer greater certainty when it comes to pursuing financial [health] gains and are willing to accept uncertainty when trying to avoid a loss [illness].

3. Cognitive processes lead clients and patients to overestimate the value of their choices thanks to survivor bias, cognitive dissonance, appeals to authority and hindsight biases.

Assessment

Much like healthcare today, the current mass-customized approaches to the financial services industry falls short of recognizing more personalized advisory approaches like prospect theory and assisted client-centered investment decision-making.

 Jaan E. Sidorov MD [Harrisburg, PA]   

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JANUARY BAROMETER: Entire Year Stock Market Investment Performance?

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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According to Rob Lenihan, of TheStreet, the January Barometer is a theory that says the investment performance of the S&P 500 in January is representative of the predicted performance of the entire year. The theory says that if stocks are higher in January, they should be higher for the year, and if they are lower in the first month, they’ll be lower for the year.

The S&P 500 finished down on January 31st, but the broad market ended up 2.6% for the month, so maybe we should heed the words of Wall Street legend Yale Hirsch, who first came up with the concept in 1972 in his Stock Trader’s Almanac, a widely read investment guide. Hirsch, by the way, also gave the world the Santa Claus Rally, which describes a rise in stock prices during the last five trading days in December and the first two trading days in the following January.

Analyst Stephen Guilfoyle said early this month in a post for TheStreet Pro that Santa Claus posted a loss this year, which was Santa’s second consecutive year in the red. 

“No sweat,” the veteran trader said in his January 9th TheStreet Pro column. “That’s just a seasonal trade, and 2024 was a very nice year for U.S. equities in a broad sense.”

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HFR INVESTMENTS: Two Indices

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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HFRX Equity Hedge Index serves as a daily-priced proxy for alternative strategies that maintain positions long and short, primarily in equity and equity derivative securities.

HFRX Fixed Income – Credit Index serves as a daily-priced proxy for alternative strategies that provide exposure to credit strategies. Credit strategies refers to a wide range of sub-strategies and may include corporate, sovereign, distressed, asset-backed, capital structure arbitrage, and other relative value approaches. Strategies may also include and utilize equity securities, credit derivatives, commodities, or currencies.

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Mid-Year US Markets Investment Update 2017

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Second Quarter 2017

[By Rick Kahler MS CFP®]

Most clients I have met with recently show surprise when I tell them the first half of the year was a good one for investors. As one client said,

“How is that possible with all the problems in the world?”

She ticked off the unrest in the Middle East, ISIS, our strained relations with Russia, the instability of North Korea, not to mention the tweeting antics of President Trump and Congress’s inability to fix health care or provide tax relief. To her, all these appear to be good reasons for markets to be going down, not up.

Her response isn’t unusual

Most people mistakenly assume that markets rise when there is good news and do poorly when there is turmoil and pessimism. Actually, it’s often the opposite.

The U.S. stock market has more than tripled in value during the runup that started in March 2009, when the world as we knew it seemed to be ending. The most recent quarter somehow managed to accelerate the upward trend. We have just experienced the third-best first half, in terms of U.S. market returns, of the 2000s.

Still, as good as markets were to investors, economic growth was admittedly meager in the first quarter. The U.S. GDP grew just 1.4% from the beginning of January to the end of March.

Round-up

The S&P 500 index of large company stocks gained 2.41% for the quarter and is up 8.08% in the first half of 2017. International stocks are finally delivering better returns to our portfolios than US stocks. The broad-based EAFE index of companies in developed foreign economies gained 5.03% in the recent quarter and is now up 11.83% for the first half of calendar 2017.

Real estate, as measured by the Wilshire U.S. REIT index, gained 1.78% during the year’s second quarter, posting a meager 1.82% rise for the year so far.

The energy sector, which was a big winner last year, has dragged down returns in 2017. The S&P GSCI index, which measures commodities returns, lost 7.25% for the quarter and is now down 11.94% for the year, due in part to a 20.43% drop in the S&P petroleum index. This proves once again the value of diversification. Just when you start to question the value of holding a certain investment or wonder why the entire portfolio isn’t crowded into one that is outperforming, the tide turns. If only this were predictable.

In the bond markets, longer-term Treasury rates haven’t budged, despite what you might have heard about the Fed raising interest rates. The coupon rates on 10-year Treasury bonds have dropped a bit to stand at 2.30% a year, while 30-year government bond yields have dropped in the last three months from 3.01% to 2.83%.

Some good news

The unemployment rate is at a near-record low of 4.7%, and wages grew at a 2.9% rate in December, the best increase since 2009. The underemployment rate, which combines the unemployment rate with part-time workers who would like to work full-time, has fallen to 9.2%, its lowest rate since 2008.

The current bull market is aging, however. The runup has lasted far longer than anybody would have expected after the 2008 crisis. Inevitably, although it’s impossible to predict exactly when, we are approaching a period when stock prices will go down. It is always good to remember that the stocks in your portfolio will eventually plunge by more than 20% (which is the definition of a bear market).

Assessment

This might be a good time to revisit your stock and bond allocations and be sure you are diversified into five or more asset classes.

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Conclusion

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™8Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™

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