Last year, the Smarter Investing blog featured hundreds of articles and manager commentaries designed to deliver readers the kind of perspective and actionable intelligence needed to make informed investment decisions.
Some posts really resonated with readers.
In case you missed them, here’s a quick overview of the blog’s greatest hits for 2014.
1) iPhone 6 launch
Apple (AAPL) hit a new all-time high back in August as gadget groupies and investors alike eagerly anticipated the iPhone 6.
Covestor manager Barry Randall set the stage in this post.
2) iWatch
Randall also had the inside skinny about the Apple iWatch gadget.
3 & 4) Alibaba IPO
The initial public offering of this Chinese e-commerce giant was one of the big events in global finance in 2014.
We cut through the hype to tell you what mattered and what were the risks to investors.
5) Stocks soar
This post placed in the perspective the white hot stock market back in August.
The S&P 500 Index, which most financial professionals use to track the performance of the overall U.S. stock market, tripled in value from its 2009 and broke through the 2,000 level for the first time, ever.
6) High times
Covestor manager John Linnemeier discussed the emerging marijuana sector and why he decided to sell off his holdings in this business.
7) Book picks
The Smarter Investing team at Covestor flagged these 10 personal finance books as ‘must reads’ this summer.
8) Core portfolios
Back in June, we rolled out Covestor Core Portfolios with no management fees.
9) Personal Finance apps
Nowadays there are tons of personal finance apps that can help with these chores, with services focused on everything from banking to saving and investing.
10) Private equity investing
Investing in start-up companies, up-and-coming consumer goods brands, and private equity has traditionally been the exclusive domain of institutional investors and hedge funds.
In October, we unveiled a new association between online investment marketplace Covestor, and equity-based crowdfunding platform CircleUp, to bring these capabilities to individual investors.
11) Market timing
Is buying on the dip a wise move?
We explained the pros and cons in this smart post.
12) Stock pickers revenge
Index-based investing has surged in popularity in recent years but this post in early 2014 argued we could be moving toward a market that provides a better hunting ground for active managers as correlations fall and volatility rises.
13) Geopolitical tensions
Covestor Robert Freedland offered his advice on playing the renewed market volatility back in October in the wake of the Ebola crisis, Russian aggression in Ukraine and the ISIS threat in Iraq.
14) Charities
Finally, in the spirit of giving as the holidays approached, we flagged five charities deserving of donations.
Here’s to 2015!
Those were our picks.
We’d love to hear from you about what stories and commentaries struck a chord.
Let us know in the comments box what posts you most enjoyed this year, and what kinds of topics you’d like to see more of in 2015.
Happy New Year from the Smarter Investing team!
DISCLAIMER: The investments discussed are held in client accounts as of December 31, 2014. These investments may or may not be currently held in client accounts. The reader should not assume that any investments identified were or will be profitable or that any investment recommendations or investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
