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Author:

Paul Schatz, President, Heritage Capital

Private Credit & Contagion Risk The Culprit

I have been discussing a 2-5% pullback for a few weeks, certainly not knowing why the market would pull back, only that it was set up. We now know the culprit, private credit and regional banks. For months, the alternative asset managers have been falling and hit with the ugly stick. Ares, KKR, Blackstone and Blue Owl are among the major ones. I had no idea why other than thinking there was an interest rate dislocation somewhere. That assumption was […]   Read More
Date: October 17, 2025

Volatility Up, Small Caps Lead & 3 Year Anniversary

Volatility has certainly increased. From less than 15 to over 22. That’s almost 50% in short order. Stocks are int he midst of the mild pullback I have written about. 2-5% is the range on the downside. Weakness remains buyable. You know where money is going on an index level? The same place I have written about for six months, small caps. Below is a chart showing the small caps relative to the large caps. When the link goes up, […]   Read More
Date: October 15, 2025

Stocks Plunge – Bullish Implications

Friday was an ugly day for risk assets as most saw their largest one day plunges since the tariff tantrum period in April. A pullback has been for a while. 80%+ of the volume was in stocks that declined. What rallied the most was hit the hardest. The QQQ which tracks the NASDAQ 100 saw a volume spike to almost 100 million shares as early, all-time high celebrations reversed when Donald Trump tweeted about hitting China with “massive tariffs”. Whether […]   Read More
Date: October 13, 2025

Gold Is What Folks Should Worry About

Yesterday, I took the train to NYC for my Fox Business segment. As I normally do, I opened my laptop and got to work. While many know me as a serial socializer in life, I am laser focused on work when I travel. So I am working away and the man next to me leans over and says, “buy gold”. And then he adds, “and the AI stuff too”. Now, I don’t know much, but I do know that no […]   Read More
Date: October 10, 2025

Pullback Not A Bubble – How To Manage Positions

Not much new since Monday, just more talk about an AI bubble which continues to be nonsense. I do enjoy reading the tweets and emails about how wrong I am, warning me of impending doom. Same folks who warned me about recession in early April and back in 2022 and 2023 because of inflation. These folks have become excellent contrary indicators. The markets are stretched. 100%. They have grinded and crept higher since mid-April without more than a mild pullback. […]   Read More
Date: October 8, 2025

The Impact of AI on Your Retirement Portfolio

Artificial intelligence is no longer a concept on the horizon; it’s already influencing how companies operate, investments are evaluated, and wealth is managed. Suppose you’re an affluent investor in Connecticut, especially if you’re planning your retirement or have already retired. In that case, AI presents opportunities to grow wealth and risks that could erode it if left unaddressed. The real challenge isn’t reacting to every new headline about AI-driven stock rallies or market volatility. It’s ensuring your retirement plan and […]   Read More
Date: October 8, 2025

A “Bubble”?

The news of the day is the OpenAI/AMD deal which is similar to the Nvidia/Intel deal. Both are excellent deals on the surface and win wins. The markets seems to be happy as AMD stock is soaring as is the NASDAQ 100 in pre-market. I am sure there will be more cries that this is the Dotcom Bubble all over again. It’s not. That’s only from lazy, ignorant pundits who don’t do their homework. If I had a nickel for […]   Read More
Date: October 6, 2025

Still In Small Caps – Tesla Turnaround

I am always thankful to the markets gods when I am out of pocket and not much happens, like yesterday and last week with the Jewish holidays. For those who observed, I hope you had an easy and meaningful fast. I made up for the 24 hours of lost time with bagels, lox, cream cheese, ruglah, mimosa, homemade mac n cheese and marble cake. No wonder I had trouble falling asleep. As you know I have been writing about the […]   Read More
Date: October 3, 2025

Conflicting October Stats, Heightened Risk, Dow 50,000 And Something Shutdown

Q4 is here. I always feel like Q3 flies by because it’s summer and the weather is warm. Of course, Q1 crawls by with winter and low daylight. Anyway, we have a number of studies that are relevant to year-end. Let’s start with October. We know that October is one of the few months that performs better when it begins in an downtrend, unlike the present. When the month starts in an uptrend, it shows a slight loss. Getting more […]   Read More
Date: October 1, 2025

From Bonds to Stocks: How Interest Rates Affect Retirement

When rates rise, some retirees breathe easier knowing their bonds might pay more. Others worry that their stock portfolio could take a hit. And when rates fall? The script flips. If you’ve built up $500K or more in investable assets, you’ve probably felt that tension firsthand. The goal isn’t to guess what the Fed will do next; it’s to position your retirement plan to stay strong no matter what happens. Our article, “From Bonds to Stocks: How Interest Rates Affect […]   Read More
Date: September 30, 2025