The Space Station Museum is Changing its Orbit!

May 12, 2012 in Latest News, Philanthropy with 0 Comments

With an emphasis on space exploration, and how its discoveries in science and technology have benefited all of mankind, this museum was designed to be truly different:

  • Admission is free and 100% privately funded through donations from local businesses such as Winans Investments Capital Management & Research and Jeremy Forcier of First Cal Mortgage, in-kind support from local businesses such as The Walter Kieckhefer Company, and individual donations. 
  • To keep costs contained, the museum is 100% volunteer staffed and is open three days a week or by appointment.
  • Exhibits are changed four times a year by the volunteer staff to help encourage visitors to frequently return.
  • The public is given a unique, tactile experience as they are allowed to touch some of the space-flown artifacts.

astronautThe Space Station museum is a tremendous success! Since its opening October 2011, the museum has averaged 642 visitors per month while only being open three days per week. Total attendance from all Space Station events in the Pacheco Plaza Shopping Center over the past ten months has exceeded 4,952 visitors. This figure equals 10% of Novato’s entire population! Visitors have come from all parts of the Bay Area and as far away Las Vegas, NV. Remarkably, marketing has been limited to word-of mouth, internet blogs, and social networks.

Since the opening of The Space Station, The W Foundation’s volunteer base has increased from 18 to 36 with another 23 individuals who have stopped by the museum signed up to volunteer in the future. The donations have largely covered operational expenses.

The nimble Space Station museum is moving between Marin Coffee Roasters and Boca Pizzeria in the Pacheco Plaza Shopping Center. It will re-open on Saturday, June 30th from 11 to 4.

An outdoor event called Space Fest is planned for July 14th.

“Real estate is a form of investment which ordinarily does not become worthless in periods of drastic financial readjustments . . . One thing about real estate, however, is that it is not always readily saleable on short notice.”

—Investment Fundamentals, Babson, 1930

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Novato Space Fest

August 8, 2011 in Philanthropy with 0 Comments

The W Foundation (TWF) and The Walter Kieckhefer Company (WKC)  established a pilot program in which TWF will create a space education exhibit in one of WKC’s marquee retail spots (Pacheco Plaza, 366 Ignacio Blvd, Novato) located in the upscale Ignacio neighborhood of Marin County.

“This is a “win, win” for our organization, the property owner and the community. Hopefully, this idea will gain traction with other groups across the country because there are so many vacant retail spaces that need to be filled. Museums gain access to high traffic areas through temporary exhibits in secure locations, and the public gains a new education venue in their neighborhood.”

The event, “Novato Space Fest” was held July 29-31. It attracted more than 600 visitors.

The W Foundation is a volunteer staffed and privately funded 501c3 non-profit corporation founded in 2004. It owns and displays one of the largest private collections of U.S., Russian, and Soviet space exploration artifacts in existence. Artifacts have been on display for many years at such Bay Area institutions as Chabot Space Science Center, The USS Hornet Museum, and it sponsors the “Navy in Space” exhibit during Fleet Week.

space station exhibit in Marin

Photo courtesy Pamela Fox of Marin Mommies

Interview: Longer Term Market Opinions

July 6, 2011 in Investments with 0 Comments

MTA logoThis is part of my interview by Amber Hestla for Technically Speaking newsletter produced by the Market Technicians Association, Inc.

There are several key things to watch in 2011:

  • Municipal Bonds — The fear of large municipalities filing for bankruptcy nationwide will continue to cause high levels of price volatility in municipal bonds. History shows us that during the widespread municipal defaults of the 1931-33, municipal bond yields increased 48%.
  • Housing — Real estate’s falling prices continue to be the elephant in the room in relation to the overall strength of this economic recovery. History tells us that there will not be a long running bull market in stocks until real estate prices have stabilized.
  • Global Inflation — The fear of the government’s monetary stimulus programs creating conditions for future inflation should cause higher price volatility for bonds with maturities exceeding 15 years. Investors should continue to limit fixed-income investments to 10 years and under.

WI’s investment strategy continues to be:

  • Common Stocks — WHEN to buy and sell is as important as WHAT to buy and sell during these types of market conditions. I believe profitable navigation of these market conditions is possible by using higher levels of investment rotation, a willingness to hold high levels of cash after significant market advances and/or strategically using some hedging during volatile downturns.
  • Corporate Bonds — Short to medium term bonds in stable companies are currently yielding 5% – 7% annually. Cautious investors should consider investing a higher portion of their portfolios in the more predictable returns generated by corporate bonds rather than the ongoing volatility of a sideways moving stock market.
  • Preferred Stocks — We expect preferred stocks to maintain attractive yields, and can be a good addition for up to a 25% allocation in an income portfolio.

“Except under the worst depression conditions of the early ’30s, dividends were regularly paid for many years and all Depression arrears were paid off in 1936-1937 to patient investors.”

The Magazine of Wall Street (2/5/1944)

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4 Key Investing Mistakes

June 14, 2011 in Profitable Income Investing with 0 Comments

EXCERPT: Preferred Stocks: The Art of Profitable Income Investing (pg 31-37)

Let’s look at the key mistakes made by income investors leading up to the 2008 financial meltdown:

Mistake 1: Income Investing Is Always Safe!

Profitable Income Investing coverUnlike other investment mediums, income investors had fewer alternatives than in the past; the once ample supply of corporate bonds from exchanges and brokerage house inventories had “dried up.” For example, during 1988, 1,127 exchange-listed bond issues actively traded. By 2006, the number had dropped to 131 issues—an 88% decline in supply.

This scarcity of exchange-listed bonds coincided with an increase in the availability of other types of income investments, such as bond mutual funds, an assortment of new preferred stock issues, and bond hybrid securities inaccurately listed as preferred stocks in most newspapers. According to Standard & Poor’s, by 2006 the size of the preferred-stock market has quadrupled over 15 years to nearly $200 billion.

While equity income investments possess many advantages; they are not conventional bonds and don’t posses the greatest advantage of a fixed-income investment—a maturity date and the knowledge of an exact return, if the investment is held to maturity.

In the “old days,” many income investors constructed portfolios of mainly bonds diversified by issuer, industry, rating, and evenly spaced by year (i.e., laddered), with each investment intended to be held to maturity. During the horrible bond bear markets of the early 1980s and mid-1960s, investors could maintain their discipline because they knew that, even though solvent bond holdings had significantly fallen in market value, they would get their principal back, as well as their expected interest payments, if they held the bonds to maturity. Continue Reading…

Residential Real Estate Bear Market Slowly Improving

April 25, 2011 in Real Estate with 0 Comments

The worst residential real estate bear market in 69 years is slowly improving with a rebound in new home sales across the country.

“Since 1960, past real estate bear markets ended when new housing inventory was below 5 months, and the median length of time to sell a new house declined to 4 months. It could easily take another year to dry up excess inventory and for mortgage credit to ease.”

Winans International Real Estate Index (WIREI™)

(December 31, 2010 to March 31, 2011)

 

 US West Northeast South Midwest
Price (8%) (1%) (4%) (5%) (9%)
Sales 26% 16% 50% 33% 0%
Listings (3%) (7%) (9%) 0% (4%)

New Housing Inventory = 6 months (–24% change)
Length of Time for Sale = 9 months (8% change)
30-Fixed Mortgage Rate = 4.8% (3% change)

The high inventory levels continue to keep pressure on prices nationwide, and the next housing bull market is probably several years away.

Major Real Estate Index Posts New All-Time Low in 2011

March 27, 2011 in Real Estate with 0 Comments

red arrowFrom U.S. housing’s 110-year peak set in 2007, the Winans International Real Estate Index (WIREI™) declined 24% to a new low of $224,050.

“This marks the worst price decline in U.S. new home prices since the 33% decline from December 1939 to December 1945. Clearly, residential real estate prices nationwide continue to be weak, and I doubt there will be sustained U.S. economic recovery without a rebound in housing values.”

The Winans International Real Estate Index (WIREI™) is the only index that measures U.S. home prices from 1830 to present and posts new housing data without a 2-month lag found with other popular real estate indexes.

More information on the Winans International Real Estate Index can be found at Winans International.

WIREI data and charts can be purchased from Global Financial Data and Securities Research Company.

 

Holland Society of New York: 2011 Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement

March 8, 2011 in Awards with 0 Comments

Holland Society LogoI was honored when The Holland Society of New York awarded me the 2011 Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement for excellence in Finance and History (two of my favorite topics).

Because I love history, I was asked by my older relatives to be a genealogist for the Winans and Eisen families and keep the memory of our ancestors alive for future generations. I am a direct descendant of Cornelius Melyn and Jan Winans, both leaders of Dutch settlements in New York and New Jersey in the 1600s. As I wrote my financial history book Investment Atlas I realized that my ancestors experienced everything I was writing about—200 years of wars, depressions, and natural disasters.

The Holland Society was founded in New York City in 1885 to collect information respecting the settlement and history of New Netherland, and is one of the nation’s oldest heritage societies. Its main objective is to find and preserve documentation about the inhabitants’ lives and times so as to elucidate the political, social, and religious patterns in the Dutch colony. Historical publications are sponsored, along with encouragement for family studies and genealogy. The Society’s membership is represented by many of America’s oldest families such as the Van Der Bilts and Roosevelts. I am currently the organization’s Pacific Southwest representative.

Holland Society