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Priming the Pump (Updated 02/24/2007 06:43 PM)
As noted on our class webpage, you can receive extra credit for attending the Minyanville event on 11/7. The event will be in 'town hall' format, meaning that interaction with Todd and John is desirable. Because of this, you can score more extra credit if you ask Todd or John a question. So...what to ask? First, let me offer that Todd and John are two of the best teachers I know and no question is too trivial for them. They want to hear what's on your minds. Many of you have questions in mind--particularly if you've been plugged into the Minyanville site as part of the MV2 project. However, if you're struggling with what to ask, here are a few ideas you might be able to build upon (I'm throwing these out there in no particular order): 1) What do you see as the key risks in financial markets today? 2) Can/should college students participate in the stock market? If so, what is the best way for the typical college student to participate? 3) A lot of discussion on Minyanville centers around trading. Should individuals trade? Or are they better off being long term investors? 4) We hear a lot about the merits of a 'buy-and-hold' approach to buying stocks. Is it wise to assume a buy-and-hold approach to investing in today's financial markets? 5) There are a lot of definitions of 'risk' out there. What's your definition of risk? What are some effective strategies that individuals can use to manage risk? 6) Can someone who graduates from NKU work on Wall Street? What are some of the possibilities? 7) How did you get started in your career on Wall Street? 8) In your view, what is the most important skill that a money manager can have? 9) How important are interest rates to our economy? Where do you think interest rates are headed? 10) What is your view of the incoming Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke? 11) Todd, I'm curious as to why you started Minyanville. 12) Historical performance suggests that stocks return 10% annually over long periods of time. Being a young investor with many years left until retirement, doesn't this suggest that I should just buy stocks or stock mutual funds and leave them alone for the next couple of decades? 13) The Consumer Price Index suggests that inflation is still subdued, yet my out of pocket costs for many of the things I need each day (energy, school, insurance, etc) are skyrocketing. What is going on? 14) A fair amount of the writing on Minyanville involves the precious metals (gold and silver). Why should anyone want to buy gold? It's just an unproductive hunk of metal. 15) What is the biggest mistake that you see market participants make? 16) How much control does the Federal Reserve have over interest rates? 17) What is the most important thing a young investor can do now in preparation for participating in financial markets? 18) What is a derivative? And how important are derivatives to today's financial markets? 19) What exactly is a hedge fund? 20) Why the large growth in hedge funds over the last few years? Is the large number of hedge funds a concern going forward? 21) Are the mainstream financial media worth paying attention to? Why or why not? 22) How important is the value of the dollar in today's financial markets? 23) Why should a stock market investor care about what happens in the bond market? 24) Debt. How big of a debt problem does the U.S. have? How did debt get so high? What choices does the U.S. have going forward with respect to debt levels? 25) We've encountered a lot of corporate financial problems recently such as Fannie Mae, General Motors, and Refco. These companies carry a lot of debt and leverage. If debt is such a big concern, then why haven't the problems in these companies spilled over into the broader economy? 26) What is the carry trade? How important is the carry trade to today's financial market prices? 27) I'd like to read the stuff on the Minyanville site but it seems oriented towards professionals or towards people with much more expertise than I have. How can I learn more from the Minyanville site? 28) John, you're obviously busy each day with your hedge fund. Why do you write for Minyanville? 29) John, could you describe a typical day at work? 30) There appear to be a lot of economic and geopolitical factors that have a low probability of occurring but, if they would occur, would have very large consequences on financial markets. How does one manage the risk associated with these 'tail events?'
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