Lumbard & Kellner, LLC


We’ve steered our clients through bubble and bust, by
differentiating between the things that matter and the things that don't.

Lumbard Investment Counseling is a traditional investment advisory firm. located in Hollis, NH.

Click here to see every newsletter we've written since 2002.

 Lumbard Investment Counseling maintains an unusually low ratio of clients to investment counselors.

Lumbard Investment Counseling is engaged in the management of equity and fixed income securities on behalf of endowments and foundations.

 

January 23, 2019:

We cannot be great if we go broke.

A letter published in the Wall Street Journal, in response to Steve H. Hanke and Stephen J.K. Walters’s Wall Street Journal op-ed “
Lying Prices Keeping America Hooked on Spending”:

In their well-crafted call for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, Profs. Hanke and Walters imply that, while the measure almost succeeded in Congress in 1982, it hasn’t had similar success since. In fact, a similar measure flew through the House in 1995 with 300 bipartisan votes in favor and then narrowly failed in the Senate. A March 3, 1995, New York Times article says: “The actual vote was 65 to 35, with Senator Bob Dole, the Republican leader, casting a vote against the amendment, but only as a parliamentary dodge. By aligning himself with the winning side, he won the right under Senate rules to bring the amendment back to the floor later, something he has pledged to do.”

There was another near win in 1997, and since then the House has passed balanced-budget amendments several times. When millennials realize they won’t receive the benefits enjoyed by today’s elderly, they might decide that they’re not going to pay for them.

John Lumbard, CFA
Hollis, N.H.


January 15, 2013:
A Million-Dollar Bill:
If you know a high school or college student who might like to receive a $1,000,000 bill—with an inscription about saving a million dollars by foregoing a latte and a muffin each day—give us a call at 1-800-Lumbard and we’ll send one to you.  The bill is featured on page 4 of the January, 2013 issue of our newsletter, Insight.
 



September 30, 2011:
John Lumbard Interviewed on Atlanta’s Butler on Business:
There's no need to worry that Europe is dragging us into a recession; this fear emerges every few months, and it’s been wrong every time, for good reasons.  On the other hand there's not much reason to hope for strong growth, because in the near term we're suffering from fiscal drag—the depressing effect caused by the end of the stimulus programs and the shrinkage of state and local governments. In the longer term we have to worry that we’re now very much like Greece and the other Southern European nations.

 

 

September 9, 2010:
Magic -
Follow the lead of the world’s biggest and best corporations. Sell their bonds, and buy their stocks.
We can’t emphasize enough the magic that occurs when a company buys back shares at a ridiculously-low price. If a company sells at ten times earnings—that is, the stock sells for $10 and the earnings are $1—those earnings are 10% of the price of the stock. ...
Full Article

 

 

Summer 2010:
Congratulations to Drew Kellner, who passed the third and final level of CFA exams this summer.
Only 46% of the candidates passed this level, and just 20% made it all the way through. And we’re not talking about an average sample of college graduates; the nation’s best and brightest have been dashing themselves against these rocks for many years.

In fact, hopes are regularly dashed all over the world.  This year thousands of candidates sat for exams in London, Tokyo, Singapore, Geneva, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt, and there were many thousands more in locations as far flung as Kathmandu, Jakarta, Sao Paolo, and Hanoi.

 

 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010:
Balancing the Federal Budget:
http://weelectedyou.org/

 

 

Saturday, April 4, 2009:
Nashua Telegraph -
Adviser says now is the time for action
“John Lumbard has some advice for investors: Don't close your eyes and ignore those grim financial statements. And don't sell everything and hide the proceeds under the mattress.”
Full Article

 

 

Christmas 2008:

A Christmas Letter To Our Clients
“Recently a client asked how his account could be down less than 10% for the year, despite having half of his assets invested in stocks.  The answer is in several parts: ...”
Full Article

 

 

January 4, 2008:

The U.S. Economy has just entered a recession.
“. . . For many months we’ve been telling you to buy long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, which offer an ideal combination of interest, appreciation, and bombproof security.” ...”
Full Article

 

 

© 2023 Lumbard & Kellner, LLC • PO Box 749,  Hollis, NH 03049 • 603-465-7700 • www.lumbard.com