The Sizemore Investment Letter

Investors are starved for yield.  It’s not exactly breaking news.  With traditional savings vehicles such as savings accounts, CDs, and bonds yielding next to nothing, investors have been flocking to dividend-paying stocks for years. On the surface, this makes all the sense in the world.  Unlike fixed income investments, dividend-paying stocks tend to enjoy rising [...]

In my last article, I noted that “Big Money” managers was wildly bullish on U.S. stocks—74% were bullish and only 7% were bearish. But what about those legendary masters of the universe—the global macro hedge fund managers who, if their reputations are to be believed, hold the fates of companies and even entire countries in [...]

In my last article, I noted that “Big Money” managers was wildly bullish on U.S. stocks—74% were bullish and only 7% were bearish. But what about those legendary masters of the universe—the global macro hedge fund managers who, if their reputations are to be believed, hold the fates of companies and even entire countries in [...]

I’ve been a big believer in vice investing—and particularly tobacco stock investing—for a long time.  I turned bearish on tobacco stocks late last year, but this was based purely on price.  In my view, tobacco stocks had simply gotten too expensive relative to other dividend-paying options—and I would reiterate that view today. But if ol’ [...]

The Dow over 15,000…the S&P 500 over 1,634…the Nasdaq at highs not seen since the 1990s Tech Boom… Any way you slice it, we’re in a bull market. Alas, we’ve been here before, and it didn’t end well.  So, is it time to worry? My answer is “no,” or at least “not yet.”  The conditions [...]

Windows 8 was the revolution that wasn’t.  But don’t count Microsoft (Nasdaq:$MSFT) out just yet.  In a lot of ways, the boring, button-down software giant was just a little ahead of its time. After a storm of criticism from frustrated long-time Windows users, Microsoft announced that it would be making significant changes to its Windows [...]

Credit card giants MasterCard (NYSE:$MA) and Visa (NYSE:$V) both crushed earnings estimates this past week, and both are sitting near new all-time highs. Not bad, considering the line of work they are in.  Given that the global economy has been tepid at best lately and that unemployment remains stubbornly high, you might not expect companies [...]

If I could sum up the year-to-date with one line, it would be “long live boring!” The Dividend Growth Model, which is designed to be a stable, long-term producer of income, is one of the top-performing portfolios on the Covestor platform, with year-to-date returns 23.7%, vs. 13.2% for the S&P 500 (returns through May 3, [...]

Warren Buffett is a hero to many investors, myself included.  His record speaks for itself: 18.3% annualized returns in Berkshire Hathaway’s ($BRK-A) book value over the past 30 years compared to just 10.8% for the S&P 500.  And his returns in the 1950s and 1960s, when he was running a much smaller hedge fund, were [...]

74% of money managers are bullish on U.S. stocks, according to Barron’s, an all-time high by the magazine’s measurement.  Only 7% were bearish. Uh oh. “All-times highs in bullishness” is not something I generally like to hear.  If these managers are talking their book—and we have to assume they are—then this means they are likely [...]