Investing simplified.
This is where I write about the decisions behind my portfolio, the investing questions I’m researching, and what I’m learning along the way. Sources and calculations are linked where they matter.
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51 articles
Investment Hedging: What It Is and How to Use It
A practical guide to hedging investments with diversification, cash, puts, collars, and other tools—plus costs, examples, risks, and a decision framework.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →30 Years of Crises for Long-Term Investors
A source-backed history of the major financial events since 1996, their preconditions, market effects, recovery times, and what continuous investing actually produced.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How the Fed's Dual Mandate Works
An accessible history of the Federal Reserve's employment and price-stability mandate, its policy tools, major episodes, and the COVID-era results.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How Deflation Happened in the Great Depression
A source-backed history of Great Depression deflation, banking panics, the gold standard, collapsing money and credit, debt burdens, and the lessons that still matter.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →August 2026 Market Snapshot
An August 11, 2026 snapshot of the strongest S&P 500 stocks, the highest trailing distribution rates in a maintained income-ETF universe, and analyst-consensus gaps worth monitoring.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Why the United States Left the Gold Standard
A source-backed history of the 1933–34 gold break, Bretton Woods, the 1971 Nixon shock, dollar devaluation, floating exchange rates, and inflation.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Alphabet Stock Analysis: Search, Cloud, AI, and Risks
A source-backed guide to Alphabet's advertising engine, Google Cloud, AI investment, governance, competitive advantages, and material risks.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Amazon Stock Analysis: Retail, AWS, Ads, and Risks
A source-backed analysis of Amazon's retail flywheel, AWS, advertising, logistics investment, segment economics, and the risks investors should monitor.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Berkshire Hathaway Stock Analysis: Businesses and Risks
A source-backed guide to Berkshire Hathaway's operating businesses, insurance float, capital allocation, succession, valuation, and major risks.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Costco Stock Analysis: Membership Model and Risks
A source-backed guide to Costco's membership economics, low-price strategy, inventory model, expansion, governance, valuation, and material risks.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Microsoft Stock Analysis: Cloud, Software, AI, and Risks
A source-backed guide to Microsoft's recurring software economics, Azure, AI investment, ecosystem advantages, capital intensity, and key risks.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →NVIDIA Stock Analysis: Business, Moat, and Risks
A source-backed guide to NVIDIA's platform economics, competitive advantages, cyclicality, concentration risks, and the evidence investors should monitor.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Average and Median Salary in the U.S.
A source-backed explanation of current U.S. average and median wage figures, why they differ, what each dataset covers, and how to compare pay responsibly.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How to Choose a Roth IRA Brokerage
A disclosed method for comparing Roth IRA providers using current costs, investments, automation, support, transfer rules, cash handling, and promotions.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Betterment vs. Fidelity
Compare Betterment's automated advice with Fidelity's self-directed brokerage and managed options, including fees, small balances, taxes, and control.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Betterment vs. Wealthfront
A source-backed Betterment and Wealthfront comparison covering advisory fees, minimums, tax features, customization, planning, and transfer costs.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Bogleheads Three-Fund vs. Four-Fund Portfolio
Compare the Bogleheads three-fund and four-fund approaches, including global stocks, U.S. versus international bonds, complexity, currency exposure, and rebalancing.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Brokerage Transfer Fees Explained
Understand ACATS transfers, outgoing fees, nontransferable assets, fractional shares, taxable liquidations, timing, reimbursements, and records before switching brokers.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Cash Account vs. Margin Account
Learn how cash and margin brokerage accounts differ in borrowing, settlement, buying power, forced sales, interest, rehypothecation, and loss risk.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →The Cost of Daycare in the U.S.
A practical guide to U.S. daycare prices, including current national estimates, differences by age and setting, budgeting examples, tax assistance, and data limitations.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Covered-Call ETF Distributions Explained
How covered-call ETFs generate cash, why distributions are not simply dividends, how upside is exchanged for premium, and which risks to review.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How to Value a Company With Discounted Cash Flow
A readable DCF guide covering FCFF, FCFE, enterprise and equity value, WACC, CAPM, terminal value, dilution, sensitivity analysis, and a labeled example.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Dividend ETF vs. Selling Shares for Income
Compare dividend cash flow with a total-return withdrawal strategy, including taxes, sequence risk, flexibility, and a transparent numerical example.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Fidelity vs. Robinhood
Compare Fidelity and Robinhood for long-term investing, including recurring ETF purchases, research, IRAs, transfer fees, complex products, and referral conflicts.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Fidelity vs. Schwab
A source-backed comparison of Fidelity and Charles Schwab for self-directed investors, including costs, automation, support, IRAs, and transfer questions.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How Dividend Taxes Work
A U.S. federal tax guide to ordinary and qualified dividends, capital-gain and nondividend distributions, tax forms, accounts, withholding, and recordkeeping.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How I Measure Lychee’s Tail
My framework for separating contributions from investment growth, recording allocation changes, and evaluating Lychee’s Tail without rewriting history.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How to Choose Investments in a 401(k)
A practical framework for evaluating a 401(k) menu, including matching contributions, target-date funds, diversification, fees, employer stock, rebalancing, and rollovers.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How to Evaluate a Mutual Fund
A practical guide to benchmarks, total return, alpha, fees, taxes, style drift, survivorship bias, and whether mutual-fund performance persists.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Why Investor Behavior Can Reduce Returns
Research on excessive trading, overconfidence, the disposition effect, performance chasing, home bias, panic selling, and practical ways to improve investment decisions.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Is the Stock Market Efficient?
An accessible review of market efficiency, event studies, anomalies, limits to arbitrage, the joint-hypothesis problem, and what the evidence means for investors.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Lychee’s Tail: Alternatives I Considered
Why I chose VOO over a total-market core, VGT over Nasdaq-100 exposure, funds over single stocks, and why I have not added bonds or energy.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Lychee’s Tail: My Overlap Review
How I review overlap and concentration across VOO, VXUS, VGT, SMH, and QTUM without pretending that five ETF tickers create five independent exposures.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Monthly Dividend ETFs: What to Check First
A dated, curated guide to monthly-distributing equity ETFs and why payout frequency should be evaluated alongside strategy, total return, tax character, and risk.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Qualified vs. Nonqualified Dividends
A source-backed guide to qualified and ordinary dividend taxation, holding periods, Form 1099-DIV, foreign corporations, and common exceptions.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Apps for Recurring ETF Purchases
A practical comparison framework for recurring ETF investing at Fidelity, Robinhood, and managed platforms, with execution, fee, and automation limits.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Return of Capital Explained
Understand return-of-capital distributions, cost-basis reductions, Form 1099-DIV box 3, destructive versus tax-deferred return of capital, and ETF examples.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Robinhood vs. Acorns
A current comparison of Robinhood and Acorns for beginning investors, focusing on self-directed investing, managed portfolios, subscriptions, automation, and risk.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →SEC Yield vs. Distribution Yield
Learn why a fund’s standardized 30-day SEC yield can differ from its trailing distribution rate, and which measure answers which income question.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →SGOV vs. BIL vs. USFR
Compare SGOV, BIL, and USFR by Treasury exposure, maturity or reset mechanics, SEC yield, expenses, ETF structure, taxes, and emergency-fund suitability.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Why a Higher Yield Can Mean Higher Risk
Why dividend yield rises when prices fall, how cuts and concentration create yield traps, and how to evaluate payout sustainability and total return.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →How Warren Buffett Beat the S&P 500
A sourced history of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, the strategy behind their long-term record, the role of skill and luck, and a 40-year comparison with the S&P 500.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Michael Burry’s Big Short: Strategy and Risk
How Michael Burry found the subprime mortgage trade, why it nearly failed before succeeding, and which parts of his research process general investors can use safely.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →CAPM Explained: Beta, Expected Return, and Its Limits
A readable guide to the Capital Asset Pricing Model, including beta, the market risk premium, the Security Market Line, worked examples, history, evidence, and limitations.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Carhart Four-Factor Model Explained
A complete guide to the Carhart four-factor model, momentum, regression interpretation, worked examples, and comparisons with CAPM and Fama-French three-factor analysis.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Fama–French Three-Factor Model Explained
An approachable guide to the Fama–French three-factor model, including market, size, and value factors, worked examples, history, evidence, and limitations.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Short-Term vs. Long-Term Investing
A practical guide to choosing investments by time horizon, with clear comparisons of liquidity, volatility, inflation, taxes, benefits, drawbacks, and risks.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Why Most Investors Cannot Beat the S&P 500
Why outperforming the S&P 500 is possible but uncommon: market arithmetic, costs, taxes, concentrated winners, investor behavior, and historical evidence.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →The 5 Best Investing Apps for Beginners
A source-backed August 2026 comparison of Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Betterment, Acorns, and Robinhood for beginners—including fees, automation, fractional shares, education, and important limitations.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →8 Retirement Tax Rules Most People Never Learn
A source-backed explanation of Social Security taxation, Roth withdrawals, capital gains, Medicare IRMAA, QCDs, Roth conversions, state taxes, and RMDs—with 2026 numbers and examples.
By Oleg Posyniak
Read article →Why Lychee’s Tail
Why I built a 100% equity portfolio around a broad U.S. core, international diversification, and smaller technology themes.
By Oleg Posyniak
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