Glass-Steagall Redux

The proposed return of Glass-Steagall like restrictions on commercial banks was reportedly the cause of the market's decline on Thursday (WSJ article). The Obama administration says that it is not its intent to restore Glass-Steagall but its proposals come pretty close. As a student of banking and finance I don't think this is a bad idea. The repeal of Glass-Steagall was probably one of the leading causes of the financial meltdown as it removed Depression era firewalls that would have stopped or at least severely limited the collapse of the financial dominoes. The removal of the G-S restrictions also added fuel to the fire by creating an overheated and ultra-competitive financial environment where the speed increased at the turn of every lap (ultimately leading to the largest pile up of financial firms the world has ever seen). By allowing commercial banks to enter the world of propriety trading and risk taking the repeal of G-S put the equity of all of the nation's large banks at risk. Big profits are available in trading the firm's capital, so are big losses. If you don't believe me ask anyone at Bear Stearns or Lehman.

We 1031

I was asked if we work with 1031 exchange buyers. Yes. Yes, we work with 1031 exchange buyers and because we are not encumbered with listings we can focus on identifying and closing within compressed timeframes. Bring it on.

Negative Waves

Enough with the negative waves—have a little faith. This is the truth, we can't change the world, only our reaction to it. Not that the point is to ignore the realities of the current marketplace but to accept them and work hard to find opportunities and solve problems. Dig how beautiful it is out here, say something righteous and hopeful for a change.

Bobby, say it ain’t so…

Am I passionate about real estate? Eh, dirt is dirt. What I am passionate about is helping people succeed; it just so happens that my skill set is in real estate and real estate finance. I am a proud graduate of Florida State University and it was with mixed emotions that I watched the Gator Bowl on January 1^st. It was the last game that one of my heroes, Bobby Bowden, will coach. It was a great game and a great win for FSU and Bobby. What was distressing was Bobby's post game meeting in which he told a bunch of reporters that he made some bad investments in real estate. Apparently he and Ann invested in land that isn't selling "worth a crap" (Bianchi-Orlando Sentinel article). Bobby, it didn't have to be this way! This is what I am passionate about; working with our investor clients to analyze an investment opportunity, identify the risks, and where possible mitigate those risks. Eyes wide open! Land is one of the riskiest investments and in my view not suitable for investment dollars that are outside of a gambling portfolio. Help me, help you. That's what I do and that's what we do at Redfish Advisors.