The Margin Debt Time-Bomb A terrible threat created by terrible decision-making by Brian Pretti Friday, September 4, 2015, 9:00 PM http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/94263/margin-debt-time-bomb What is perhaps the greatest risk to individual investors these days? Is it the potential for a decline in corporate earnings based on a slowing global economy? Is it that current valuation levels in both equities and fixed income instruments are much nearer historic highs than not? Is the biggest risk a US Fed that will soon raise interest rates for the first time in close to a decade? Although all of these are specific investment risks we face in the current cycle, my contention is that the single largest risk to investors is a risk that has been present since the beginning of what we have come to know as modern financial markets. The single largest risk to investors is themselves. By that, I mean the influence of human emotion and psychology in decision making. We Are Our Own Worst Enemies... Human Emotions Meet Animal Spirits... The Margin Debt Time-Bomb... media.peakprosperity.com/images/large_margin-debt.png Broken down in 3 segments, the rest is at the link above...