Brian Pretti's Blog

Partner and Chief Investment Officer
Capital Planning Advisors

Brian has been an investment management professional for over three decades.

Prior to joining Capital Planning Advisors as Partner and Chief Investment Officer, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Mechanics Bank Wealth Management since 1990 where he was instrumental in growing assets under management from $150 million to over $1.4 billion.

Brian is a sought after public speaker on the topics of the financial markets and economy, and has been quoted in Barrons, the Financial Times, San Francisco Business Times and Comstock’s.

Prior to his role as CIO at Mechanics Bank, he was an investment research analyst at value equities investment firm George B. Springman, Inc., serving institutional clients such as the State of Oregon, San Francisco City and County Public Retirees, and the Contra Costa Country Retiree Pension Fund from 1986-1990.

From 1983-1986, Brian was a research analyst in the three person headquarters based Financial Planning and Analysis division of Transamerica Corporation.

Brian was the founder, publisher and editor of ContraryInvestor.com, a subscription based investment research website serving institutional, private and retail investors from 1998-2012, and continues to write for numerous well known investment websites such as ZeroHedge and Financial Sense.

Brian holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designations as well as having earned an MBA in Finance from San Francisco State University, a BS in Economics and BA in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

While not living his passion for the financial markets and economy, Brian loves spending time with his wife and son, enjoying travelling, hiking, music and seeking out new adventures.

Will QE Affect The Effect?

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When global central banks began to expand their balance sheets in an attempt to ward off the Great Recession of 2008-2009, their efforts were considered unprecedented.

Hands Across the Water, Heads Across the Sky

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A few weeks back I penned a discussion in these pages suggesting one of the most important issues for 2013 may be the potential for a shift in macro deflationary expectations among the investment community.

Mind Over Matter?

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From year end 2006 to the present, the top six central banks globally have printed close to $12 trillion in new money. Quite the feat given that they started with a collective balance sheet of $5 trillion.

The Moment of Truth for Manufacturing?

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During the summer of this year I penned a discussion suggesting that we all watch durable goods orders (ex aircraft and defense spending) closely for clues as to how businesses were assessing and preparing for the Fiscal Cliff.

Looking Over the Cliff

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Over the last few months, jitters have gripped investors as the stock market has become a bit volatile on the downside. The last peak in stock prices came almost immediately after the Federal Reserve announced Quantitative Easing III in September.

Listening In

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It has been a rough couple of weeks for equity investors since the election. We’ve been treated to a virtually uninterrupted decline in price. The consensus wisdom is that now that the election is out of the way, investors are intently focusing on the fiscal cliff. The popular press is full of these stories.

At Your Service

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A while back I penned an article that pointed out the US was experiencing the weakest service sector recovery cycle since the 1940’s at least. Important why? Simple enough, the bulk of modern day US GDP is driven by the service sector, especially the domestically focused components of GDP.

Remaining Disciplined in an Increasingly Undisciplined World

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Let me start with an anecdotal data point. In the year 2007, the US paid $200 billion in interest costs on its outstanding government debt. In 2012 the US will pay approximately $200 billion on its outstanding government debt.

Three Part Harmony?

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This is one of those discussions where I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking… well, maybe. To the issue at hand, over the years I’ve consistently checked in on hopefully what we can term the views of corporate insiders.

Money Printing and Job Growth—A Structural Disconnect

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Although noble, the Fed targeting the US employment level as a rationale for further money printing is a bit disingenuous given the structural issues facing the economy. What are these issues exactly and why will they be so hard to overcome?

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