End Of Year Wrapup 2018 - Bitcoin Is Dot.com Redux

I love to do end of year shows when not enjoying the holidays with my family. While Liz Clamen was on break, Cheryl Casone got the interview rolling. My take is simple, a chart is a chart, and bubbles are best played on breakouts and momentum. But if you want my opinion about buying this stuff, the answer is no. Fox Biz wanted me to give an end of year price for Bitcoin in 2018, and nobody really knows. I guessed $2000, but let me tell you, this could get more out of hand before reality sets in.

Munson on 2018 rally, FAANG rally, Bitcoin Bubble

Jen Rogers and I spent some time together in the Yahoo Finance NYC studio. We covered everything that was rattling around in my head that cold Manhattan afternoon. I said I would fly back once the yield curve inverted . . .

Dark Side Of Cryptocurrencies: Making Criminals Rich

Over the past few months I’ve taken a deep dive into cryptocurrencies beyond simply trading an asset. Earlier in 2017 my interest was in how the mechanics worked. Clunky, high transaction charges, foreign banks in very foreign countries, and zero investor protection or oversight. Hey, I never got past the poor transaction framework. As time went by and the prices went up it became clear on top of all of this – the so-called currency was nothing but ether, hot air, and no better than gold. At least gold is shinny and you can wear it. Since I don’t invest directly in gold (it has no actual value, pays no dividends, and it can be easily stolen), cryptocurrencies didn’t have any more appeal. And no, just because the price of something goes up doesn’t mean, well, anything.

Now that I’ve had time to travel to New York City, talk to people in the know and vet out how many people out there had no idea what was going on, the real issues started to come out.

Rather than keep typing, I include this interview I was quoted in by Ethan Wolff-Mann from Yahoo Finance. He’s a talented writer that isn’t quick to print things without some real research. While I love when I get a quote – keep reading the whole article as he spells out the core issue: criminals are the ones that profit. This may seem obvious once you see it, but it wasn’t in the most recent past

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-boom-may-made-criminals-wallets-richer-153914871.html

Charles Payne Asks Munson About Tax Reform On Fox Business

I was in New York all day seeing a few clients, meeting up with some old friends, and keeping my ear to the ground. I was invited to come on Making Money with Charles Payne. I've known him for many years and always love the opportunity to hang out and talk about the topics of the day.

I wasn't going anywhere and, since I had a late redeye that evening, I told the producers to put me any place they wanted and I can stay the whole hour, and they did. In the first block, they were covering all the news about tax reform, but the only thing Charles really wanted to ask me point blank prior to going live was Lee, do you really think 20 versus 22% for corporate tax rate is going to make or break this market? My response, as you can imagine, was no it really doesn't make any difference. The issue is whether or not smaller US based versus large multinationals (that have armies of advisors to dodge tax) are going to do better on their balance sheet than paying 30% to the US Treasury, and the answer is of course they will.

What Skills Do You Need To Be A Forensic Investigator

In part 3 of Financial Times’ Financial Advisor IQ’s interview by Bruce Love, Lee Munson discusses the skills needed to become an expert witness for securities litigation cases. Also, there is no better way of staying up to date on compliance. Over the last 10 years Lee Munson has assisted Clinton Marrs in going after the bad actors that plague our industry.

How You Can Be a Forensic Investigator

Lee Munson is interviewed by Bruce Love from Financial Times’ Financial Advisor IQ. This is the second installment of a long form interview in which Munson explains his last 10 years working with Clinton Marrs going after bad actors in the investment industry. 

Lee Munson is interviewed by Bruce Love from Financial Times' Financial Advisor IQ. This is the second installment of a long form interview in which Munson explains his last 10 years working with Clinton Marrs going after bad actors in the investment industry.

Lee Munson Helps Victims Fight Back Against Bad Brokers

Financial Times Interview with Lee Munson August 2017 Financial Expert Witness, Part 1 Lee Munson is interviewed by Bruce Love about his side career as an expert witness for securities litigator Clinton Marrs.

http://financialadvisoriq.com/c/1735523/202753/this_helps_victims_fight_back_against_brokers

When I traveled to NYC in August, Bruce Love, Financial Times journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Financial Advisor IQ, wanted to sit down and talk to me about being a forensic investigator. While it’s a small part of what I do, it gives me incredible insights into how the industry is changing, and what effects client’s the most.

This is a three part series, and I’m grateful that Financial Times dedicated so much time and effort for a rare long-form interview.

Stay tuned for part 2 and 3. 

Portfolio Wealth Advisors makes the Albuquerque Business First’s Top Private Companies List

We ask Lee Munson, Chief Investment Officer of Portfolio Wealth Advisors about what it means to make the list. 

link: https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/subscriber-only/2017/07/14/private-companies.html

“After making the Private 100 over the past several years, it was no surprise that we made Albuquerque Business First’s Top Private Companies List. My business parter, Tracy Ann Miller, and I have discussed our plans for growth and find our best work is done one on one rather than ramping up and hiring. You can’t hire a kid out of business school to do what we do. It simply takes to many years to amass the knowledge necessary to help people live off their assets. Sure, any kid can help you save and grow money when you are young, but retirement is whole other ball game that takes more wisdom than experience. With that said, it’s an honor to own a firm that has had this type of success in New Mexico. My word of advice: anyone can make it in New Mexico.”

If you would like to learn how our firm can help you find success in retirement, reach us at info@portfoliollc.com

Fox Business Asks Lee Munson His Insights On Market Conditions

It’s always a pleasure to be asked to appear on a big show. It’s even better to have Lauren Simonetti simply ask me what I think about markets and let me talk. One of the advantages of being in the News Corp studio in midtown Manhattan is feeling the energy of a live set. When it’s just you and the host, you have the time (having time on live TV is relative, of course) to develop an idea and get a few things out there you can’t do when arguing with some other guest about a topic you don’t care about. 

I tell it like it is – I expect a small pullback, but that’s not a new idea. I talk about where to invest capital when the market has done well and spent a summer going sideways. When asked about the big central bank meeting in Jackson Hole, I say we won’t get any bombshells. However, if there are any hawkish comments that cause a pullback – you want to think about buying that dip. 

Remember, there is a reason I’m asked to be on these shows. I provide a high level reality check on what the media is selling.

Lee Munson Interviewed By Yahoo! Finance On Solar Eclipse Day

Seana Smith and I go back over 5 years. She used to book me on After The Bell at Fox Business. Now she is in the driver’s seat hosting Yahoo! Finance’s morning show Market Movers. We covered a few key topics, but all we really want to know is where the market is heading. Spoiler alert: over time it goes up.

“When everyone wants something to happen, it ain’t gonna happen” - Lee Munson on corrections.  

The cold reality is that after months of quite markets, big Wall Street firms are seeing a big drop in trading revenues. So what is a pig to do? Well, if you have no material fundamental damage to the market, just tell people is has to go down or get more volatile because it hasn’t in months. Is that how you want to manage your money?

Our firm took a more realistic approach in which I outline in this interview. We rebalanced and took profits from the last 9 months. This period had significant gains in certain assets classes, especially international stocks. If we get a mild pullback (my opinion, but who cares) or a correction (the fear Wall Street is peddling), we have fresh capital to reinvest. 

Just remember that the big dogs out there aren’t selling stocks, they are hedging their portfolios using complex and costly derivatives to try and make some money while the market goes sideways. Let them have their side game all to themselves.