Dear Clients: U.S. stocks marched steadily higher through the summer, with the S&P 500 reaching a record high on September 2 (the NASDAQ Composite peaked five days later). Unfortunately, September has been the weakest month for U.S. stocks going back to 1950 and 2021 was no exception, with the S&P 500 suffering [...]
Don’t be spooked by fears of another “Taper Tantrum” Mickey Kim / October 1, 2021 September has been the weakest month for U.S. stocks going back to 1950. The Wall Street Journal headline on September 21 brayed, “Stocks Record Biggest Slump Since Spring.” It’s been more than 300 [...]
Will “disruptive innovation” prophet Cathie Wood’s flock need an “ARK?” Mickey Kim / September 3, 2021 Whether it’s Ali vs. Frazier in boxing (the “Thrilla in Manila”), Duke vs. Kentucky in basketball or Godzilla vs. Kong in the movies, when “titans” clash, it always makes [...]
Confusing Speculating With Investing IS Hazardous to Your Wealth Mickey Kim / August 6, 2021 There’s a whole industry built around convincing you investing is as easy as child’s play and you can trade your way to prosperity, all for free. Whether it’s the very clever and entertaining [...]
Not Knowing the Difference Between Speculating and Investing Can Be Disastrous to Your Financial Health - Podcast Given these are exciting and dangerous times for inexperienced investors being lured to and encouraged to “trade your way to prosperity” by commission-free brokerage platforms like Robinhood, educating the next generation of investors is one [...]
Dear Clients: Though we never focus on short-term performance, we are nonetheless pleased client equity portfolios had solid performance in the second quarter of 2021, building on the stellar gains from the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. We’re invested alongside you and are quite satisfied with where we [...]
Bitcoin skyrocketed, but is it “digital gold” or “fool’s gold?” Mickey Kim / June 4, 2021 Bitcoin was created in 2009 and is the largest (recently valued at more than $900 billion, the same as the market capitalization of Facebook and greater than 494 of the stocks that [...]
Mr. Spock would find today’s ‘SPAC-Mania’ totally illogical Mickey Kim / May 7, 2021 What do tennis great Serena Williams, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, former baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, music icon Jay-Z and former House Speaker Paul Ryan have in common? All are the celebrity faces of one [...]
Where the Market Stands a Year After Pandemic Lows - Podcast Kirr, Marbach’s quarterly podcast continues with a discussion between Associate Director of Client Service Zach Greiner, CFP and Chief Investment Officer Mark Foster, CFA on the implications of rising rates on the equity markets, specifically value stocks. Associate Director of Client [...]
Bond investors facing Q1-2021 statement sticker shock Mickey Kim / April 7, 2021 The following is an excerpt from Kirr, Marbach & Co.’s first quarter client letter, available at here. Conventional investment wisdom is stocks are “risky” and bonds are “safe.” Owning stocks is exciting—you can make or [...]
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Associate Director of Client Service |
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Current Board Member and Vice President of Sans Souci. Past president of Sans Souci and Columbus Young Professionals. Finance Mentor for Turning Point’s Dance Marathon. Leadership Bartholomew County – 2014 and Coalition for Collaborative Learning – 2015. Zach was previously a Credit Analyst and Commercial Lender for MainSource Bank and, most recently, Financial Advisor for Raymond James. Zach joined KM in 2018. |
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Associate Director of Client Service |
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Current member of Heritage Fund Bartholomew County Grants Committee and First Presbyterian Preschool Policy Board. Before joining KM in 2018, Maggie was a financial analyst at Cummins, Inc. |
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Roger Lee, CFA, CPA
Senior Research Analyst |
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Roger joined KM as a Senior Research Analyst in 2016. Prior to joining KM, he sharpened his research skills while on the investment teams of Pacific View Asset Management, the Artisan Partners Global Equity Fund, and Tradewinds Global Investors, a subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. He began his career in assurance services at Ernst & Young. Roger has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York since 2010. |
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Collin Foster, CFA
Research Analyst and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager |
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Collin joined KM as an Equity Analyst in 2015. Prior to joining KM, he worked as a credit analyst and credit manager at MainSource Bank. |
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Mickey Kim, CFA
Managing Partner, Chief Operating/Compliance Officer |
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Mickey was Senior Research Analyst at Driehaus Capital Management, a Chicago investment management firm, from 1982 to 1985. Mickey joined KM in 1986 and has been the firm’s Chief Operating Officer since 1996 and Chief Compliance Officer since 2004. |
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Mark D. Foster, CFA
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Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager |
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Mark was formerly associated with American Fletcher National Bank (now JP Morgan Chase, Indiana, NA) as a research analyst from 1980 to 1982 and with Merchants National Bank as a portfolio manager/research analyst from 1982 to 1984. From 1984 to 1987 he was associated with Merchants Investment Counseling Inc. as Director of Equity Strategy, directly responsible for managing approximately $200 million of equity assets. Mark joined KM in 1987 and has been the firm’s Chief Investment Officer since 1997. |
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Matt Kirr
Partner, Director of Client Service |
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Current Board Member of Heritage Fund Bartholomew County and Foundation for Youth. Past president of Foundation for Youth, the Day Nursery Foundation Board, and past vice-chairman of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Indiana. Matt was previously a Vice President and Private Banker for Bank One, N.A. and, most recently, McDonald Financial Group. Matt joined KM in 2005. |
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Darrell H. “Kip” Wright, CFA
Partner, Portfolio Manager, Senior Research Analyst |
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Kip was a Trust Investment Manager for various banks in Iowa from 1982 through 1995, most recently with Brenton Bank, N.A., with responsibilities of overall strategy and equity selection. Kip joined KM in 1995 and is a portfolio manager and senior research analyst. |
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Colin King, CFA
Senior Research Analyst |
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Colin joined KM as an Equity Analyst in 2012. Prior to joining KM, he worked in assurance services with Ernst & Young and in business valuation with Blue & Co., both CPA firms. Colin has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Indiana since 2012. |
