Passive Investing is Important
Because you sometimes have bad days
Today, after being on vacation, I woke up to a lot of unpleasant news. I am a dealmaker after all, and you are as good as your last deal.
Passive Investing, as I define it, is important to have something to fall back on when business stinks…
which means costs>cash flow
It helps a lot to cushion a stormy weather, to have passive investments as both a rainy day fund,
savings,
and possibly a way to earn some additional income
Passive for me = Less than 1 hour a day of observation with coffee
Yesterday, when I shared the AAII sentiment indicator and visited their site, I had no idea how many tools they have
Are they good? Not good? Not sure. Nevertheless, they have been around a while, and it interests me to kick the tires a bit, but not for today.
We are now into part 3 of the components needed to have a healthy perspective on markets (according to Claude.AI)
SEC ENFORCEMENT
This is where you see how people got a little carried away in their little world and the SEC is there to help slow things down
https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases
Right now, I am sure other smart guys are putting an API on this to see the #s, but I realize why I am who I am now. I like to read the fine print.
And if I don’t, I enjoy having AI summarize it, like an intern, a badly paid one, which I’m looking for.
So for this week
I shared with you the 52-week high/low, investor sentiment, and government enforcement
What it does for small guys, is
What to avoid!
Trends of aggressive tactics
Trust of funancial system
Especially, now with free commissions and less interaction with your financial partners, you are on your own.
So when you see a penny stock or a crypto idea, this will help to temper your excitement, and if people are crapped out … you will
in theory
Know before the crowd
Harvard Law, in its review, explains that under the Trump administration, the participation-trust relationship isn't a simple "more enforcement = more trust" equation.
The quality of enforcement matters as much as the quantity. What you're watching for isn't the case count.
It's whether the Ponzi and fraud lines hold while the technical overreach recedes. If they do, this is a net positive for participation.
If fraud rises while the agency is distracted by its own reorganization, you'll see it in the sentiment data 60–90 days before anyone writes the headline.
You can visit here for the full report:
https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/01/21/sec-enforcement-2025-year-in-review/
So if you already watched The Wolf of Wall Street a few times and want to be entertained by Wall Street malfeasance, visit the SEC
Pleasant Friday
Eric
PS. If you like my work, subscribe to a growing audience that will, with patience, present a valuable perspective that may not be overlooked in the storm of day-to-day life
For a detailed breakdown of a sector that is making new 52-week highs, have a look at Phabian's Substack
That’s what dealmakers do, spot the trends.
You’ll eventually get it as you read along