Understanding the Market

My name is Cole Kendall and the goal of this site is to help you to understand the market.

Someone who wishes to understand the market should view this site as an investment of your time; the logical questions are what’s in it for the you, the reader (what is the expected return from this investment), what are the costs and what is the historical record.

Expected return: While no one can possibly understand every move in every security, there are many facts that if properly understood will aid you in your investing. Increased understanding can help you make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes. You will not find specific investment advice, but instead explanations of some of the most important factors that affect markets. And if you do not find an explanation to your concern, please send us a note (cole at understandingthemarket.com) and we will respond promptly.

Costs: The only cost to you is the time you spend reading the site; there is no subscription fee or other obligation. We are completely independent of any financial institution, and sell no investment products of any sort. We do not present commentary on individual stocks or securities.

Historical record: Our experience comes from 20 years of thinking about and writing about financial markets, including experience teaching and consulting. As a consultant and later president of an economic advisory firm, I have advised banks, mutual funds and major corporations based in the US, Europe, Asia and South America on global economic, financial and political developments.

My firm (Understanding the Markets LLC) provides analysis of economic and market conditions to banks and other financial institutions. You can contact me about consulting services at ckendall (at) umrkt.com .