Author Archives: TomPowell

About TomPowell

Thomas J. Powell is Chief Executive Officer at ELP Capital as well as the Chief Investment Officer for ELP Capital’s affiliated investment company - ELP Capital Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. Tom is a highly regarded author and is recognized as an innovative investment manager with particular expertise in credit risk analysis, distressed debt recovery, and deal structure. He understands the practical application of money management in response to risk on both Wall Street and Main Street. Tom has made understanding and effectively maximizing money resources his life’s work for more than 20 years, regardless of the direction in which the market’s currents are running. Tom began his banking career with Wells Fargo Bank in 1988 and has more than twenty years of banking, mortgage banking, and finance experience. He holds a BS in Finance, an MBA in Real Estate, and is a member of Harvard University’s Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate. Tom is a widely sought after speaker, international guest lecturer, and is an Instructor in the Office of Executive Education at Harvard University. Tom is the author of Standing In The Rain, a guide book to understanding, surviving and thriving in the worst financial storm since the Great Depression; Comparing Real Estate Investments, Using Excel in conjunction with the HBS case study - Angus Cartwright III©; and has co-authored the book series Real Life Habits for Success. In addition, he publishes a weekly economic newsletter and podcast The Powell Perspective. Tom is involved in numerous community and industry groups, including serving as a National Trustee for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He and his wife, Tonya, are the proud parents of four children and three dogs.

Real Estate Investment Tips, Risk Assessment and Strategy

Three Tips to Help You Avoid Stepping Face First into Real Estate Risk  Limiting risk in real-estate investments substantially increases your chances of earning high returns.  A solid risk assessment prevents you from getting burned, losing your initial investment or much worse. Investors pick real estate for three main reasons: Earn positive cash flow, take advantage of tax benefits or [...]

The Main Event: Traditional IRA v. the Roth IRA v. the Self-Directed IRA

There has been a lot of discussion concerning Roth IRAs lately among those planning for retirement. One reason may be because new federal tax laws have changed the limitations placed on converting to a Roth. Plus, the December 31st deadline to convert your traditional IRA into a Roth is fast approaching. Remember, we are talking taxes here, so converting your [...]

Real Estate, Retirement and the IRA

Retirement Planning Meets Real Estate (And Really Hit it Off) You are never too young to start saving for retirement. On the other hand, only your specific life circumstances determine if you’re too old. Although earlier is best when it comes to retirement planning, later is still better than never. Whenever you choose to start, it is important to know your [...]

Real Estate Wrap-up and the RIA

Residential Real Estate  There are dozens of reasons why the residential real estate market bubbled and exploded, causing the ensuing credit crisis and economic strife. The popularity of loans requiring no documentation, the easy access to sub-prime loans and the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates low all intertwined to fuel the housing crisis. The housing bubble was also [...]

Rebuilding Your Wealth with Real Estate

              As our economy slowly recovers, many investors are concerned with recouping the money they lost during the crisis. Pulling your funds out of investments all together will do nothing to bulk up your savings, while sinking your money into risky funds can do further damage. So, with black-and-white options not offering solutions, where can investors put their money to [...]

Take Advantage of the Future by Investing Now

              Investors at all levels have been tempted to stash their savings away in what they view as safe places: federally-insured banks, gold, their mattresses. But, as retirement creeps closer, or for some of you, continues on, it is difficult to protect the value of what you have. It is even more difficult to take what you have and get [...]

The Strenuous Life of the American Dollar

              With the enormous amount of government spending, some level of U.S. inflation is inevitable; but how high that level might get is debatable. With the global economy crawling out of the Great Recession, inflation-flavored fears now fill news broadcasts. As a result, gold and oil prices have climbed as inflation-conscious investors have poured their money into commodities due to [...]

Explaining Derivatives to Michael Moore

            Documentarian Michael Moore’s latest project, Capitalism: A Love Story aimed at highlighting a number of flaws concerning the economic system upon which our country is built. In his film, Moore infiltrates Wall Street and Washington D.C. to “explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown.” In one scene, he attempts to make a citizens arrest of the AIG [...]

Michael Moore: Here is a Derivative Explanation for You

In his new movie Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore searches for someone to explain derivatives to him.  Michael, here is an easy explanation for you.  If you need me to explain it further, I would be happy to do so.  All my best, Thomas J. Powell How Derivatives Helped Collapse the Economy The following is a fictional example. It [...]

Proceed with Caution

            It is now evident that this recession has uncovered a number of substantial flaws in our country’s financial industry. The now-exposed wounds became so complex that it took a meltdown of this size to identify them and it will take a long, sluggish recovery for them to heal. The majority of the flaws in our financial system hit individual [...]