Skip to content

Berkshire Money Management Berkshire Money Management

  • Who We Are
    • About Us
    • CEO’s Message
    • Meet Our Team
    • In The Press
  • What We Do
    • Mutual Success
    • Insights & Advice
    • The Extra Mile
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Schedule a Call
    • Sign Up
    • Refer a Friend
  • WealthE
  • Client Logins
    • Investments
    • Planning
    • Schwab Alliance
  • Financial Planning
  • College Planning
  • Estate Planning
  • Nurses & Doctors
  • Retirement
    • Retirement Planning
    • Social Security
    • Medicare
    • Retirement Coaching
  • Business Owners
    • Value Builder
    • BizEquity

Insights & Advice

BMM ArticlesA Wealth of KnowledgeVideo GalleryThe Retired Advisorwith Bill Schmick

Tag: Berkshire Money Management

John Bielski: supervisor of capital trading, cat whisperer, and life of the party

July 18, 2022 by Kimberly Campagna

This is the first post in a new series spotlighting the individual team members who make BMM great – and a great place to work, too. Today we’re celebrating John Bielski, Supervisor of Capital Trading, on his fourth anniversary with the firm. Happy anniversary, Johnny! “It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years already.” Johnny joined the Berkshire Money Management team in 2018, but his BMM story begins a long, long time ago, in a wealth management firm not too far away. Back when Johnny was a student at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), he was hired…

Read more

Always looking forward

May 13, 2022May 13, 2022 by Allen Harris

by Kimberly Kirchner, Sponsored Content Editor, The Berkshire Eagle  21 years in business is no small achievement, but Berkshire Money Management CEO and Chief Investment Officer Allen Harris prefers to measure his company’s success with a different metric. “I’ve worked with folks in this area, with businesses that are literally going on a century. And there’s something to be said for that kind of longevity,” Harris said. “But I’ll also say that longevity isn’t the only reason business should be celebrated.” Harris is focused less on the last 21 years of BMM’s history, and more on the next 5 years…

Read more

Best of the Berkshires 2021

November 2, 2021November 4, 2021 by Allen Harris

Small businesses make the Berkshires the Best The Eagle’s “Best of the Berkshires” (BoB) is a Who’s Who list of the community. My company, Berkshire Money Management (BMM), was fortunate enough to secure a place on the list for the second year in a row. (A big thank you to those who voted for us.) However, I don’t think that people necessarily voted for BMM because of our proficiency in investment selection, tax mitigation, reducing tuition payments, or anything else that our clients pay us for. That math doesn’t add up – we’re a small business with relatively few clients….

Read more

Video: Fishee

September 15, 2021September 15, 2021 by BMM
Read more

What is in the Stimulus Package?

January 4, 2021January 4, 2021 by Allen Harris

Well, I got that one wrong. Fortunately. Yes, we got a stimulus package! I had said on November 30 that, “I am investing as if we’ll see something in the range of a $500 billion stimulus package announced by early February. (For comparison, JP Morgan is expecting a $1 trillion stimulus in March 2021.)” Fortunately, what that has meant for me is that I had been targeting a full allocation of equities for my growth-oriented portfolios. On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the $908 billion COVID-19 relief bill. That is good news for the economy and should support an overextended…

Read more

Brexit at last

December 30, 2020 by Bill Schmick

After four years of squabbling, and nine months of last-ditch negotiations, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Community (EU) have come to a compromise agreement. The deal is much more an economic partnership than a true parting of the ways. The new economic system covers large areas of bilateral trade, including autos, industrial materials, manufacturing, the pharmaceutical sector, as well as professional services. It also allows the UK freedom to set new standards in areas like the environment and labor laws, as long as any changes do not overstep European standards by too much. The idea is to maintain…

Read more

Stimulus bill vaults stocks to new highs

December 17, 2020December 18, 2020 by Bill Schmick

A much-needed fiscal stimulus bill is expected to pass at the eleventh hour by lawmakers in Washington. Investors greeted that news by taking all three major averages skyward this week, with more gains in the offing. As I wrote last week, politicians are waiting until the very last day before passing a $903 billion stimulus bill. Thursday was supposed to be the deadline, and then Friday; talks may well stretch through the weekend at this point.  In the meantime, another important piece of legislation, an extension of the government budget, had to be signed by Friday, December 18th to keep…

Read more

Markets are in a tug of war

November 20, 2020November 20, 2020 by Bill Schmick

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths are surging way beyond the totals earlier in the year. That promises tough going for the economy over the next two quarters. On the other hand, two highly effective coronavirus vaccines have been announced, but won’t be widely distributed until next year. In the middle sits the stock market. What are investors to do? We know that financial markets are discounting mechanisms that cause investors to buy or sell stocks based on what may happen in 6 to9 months from now. At that time, so the story goes, at least two vaccines will…

Read more

Small town America is in vogue

November 12, 2020 by Bill Schmick

The on-going coronavirus pandemic has boosted consumer demand for small town real estate.  Whether that trend will continue with a vaccine on the horizon is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, it could be a godsend for those looking to retire and possibly downsize during this period. The obvious driver in this trend change has been the safety factor.  The devastating carnage that occurred in the nation’s large cities during the first surge of the coronavirus convinced many families to pull up stakes and find dwellings as far from the mayhem (and people) as possible. Home listings in small towns jumped…

Read more

Purpose as a competitive advantage

November 10, 2020November 16, 2020 by Allen Harris

Once upon a time, the sole purpose of a business was to make the owner rich. Today, it’s considered “mainstream” for a company to also have a more humane purpose. If done authentically, doing so will make the owner even more wealthy. Purpose is motivation, and motivation is a competitive advantage. A corporate purpose explains how its team makes a difference in the world. It also gives your employees meaning and gets them to dive into projects with more energy and enthusiasm. Purpose attracts and inspires employees. You can’t invent a corporate purpose. It already exists, and you need to…

Read more

Markets have already picked the winner

November 6, 2020November 6, 2020 by Bill Schmick

The nation spent most of the week wondering who won the presidential elections. While lawsuits, protests, and dueling press conferences occupied the airwaves and internet, global stock markets spent the time discounting the results. Have markets already picked the winner? A Joe Biden win, with a Democrat House, and a GOP-controlled Senate was the conclusion reached by the markets on Tuesday. The “blue wave” that investors had expected and believed would unleash trillions of dollars’ worth of stimulus, run up the national debt, and cause long-term interest rates to rise, was off the table. Instead, we would face at least…

Read more

The polling business takes a body blow

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 by Bill Schmick

There has been one clear loser thus far in the outcome of the 2020 presidential elections and it is not the candidates. The polling industry has gotten it wrong twice in a row. Can the industry survive that kind of mistake? As votes across the nation continue to be counted, the pollsters and the media, which count on those polling results, are asking how Vice President Joe Biden’s 10-point lead nationwide could have evaporated in the blink of an eye. Political polling is a type of public opinion polling, which in the past (when done right), is a fairly accurate…

Read more

The market’s Halloween fright

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 by Bill Schmick

This has been the worst presidential, pre-election week for stocks—ever. But the worst may be over. October has come to an end. Now all we need to do is get through a presidential election and its aftermath, and hope that Americans come to their senses in dealing with this pandemic. That is a lot to hope for. Prior to this week, the sharpest pre-election market decline on record dates back to 1932.  Given the apocalyptic campaign predictions of what will happen if the other guy wins, who could blame investors for getting spooked? But the real impetus for driving markets…

Read more

Politicians play cat and mouse with investors

October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 by Bill Schmick

It was a week of will they or won’t they. Both parties claimed to want another stimulus deal done before the election, but the proof is in the pudding and as of Friday, the plate is empty. Investors may be coming to the conclusion that the latest negotiations between the Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Republican U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, was simply an election ploy. A way to set up the other side for failure, while making their own position look both caring and, at the same time,…

Read more

The pandemic has been good to the pet industry

October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by Bill Schmick

Sales are increasing wherever you look in the pet sector. Toys, beds, grooming products, leashes, day care, you name it; the pet industry is experiencing double-digit increases in revenue. Better yet, there are few signs that consumer spending in this area will slow down anytime soon. As readers are aware, the retail sector has been one of the hardest hit as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The pet care industry is an exception to that rule. In the past, I have written extensively about how recession-proof the pet industry can be.  In both the 2001 and 2008 recessions, pet…

Read more

Few businesses sell

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by Allen Harris

The goal for many business owners is to sell their company and retire with confidence. If that wasn’t a consideration of yours last year, it might be today. According to a Baker Tilly survey, as a result of the pandemic, 31 percent of business owners will accelerate their sale to a nonfamily buyer, and 24 percent will accelerate ownership to the next generation. Some readers probably won’t quickly sell their company, because they have failed to take the critical steps necessary to make it transferable. Selling isn’t enough — you need to attain maximum value first. Surveys by the Exit…

Read more
Complete Article Archive
more articles

Service Areas +

  • Pittsfield
  • Lenox
  • Dalton
  • Lanesborough
  • Windsor
  • Cheshire
  • Hinsdale

Berkshire Money Management, Inc.
161 Main Street, Dalton, MA 01226
322 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 997-2006 | (888) 232-6072

Investments in securities are not insured, protected or guaranteed and may result in loss of income and/or principal.
Form ADV Part 3 – Client Relationship Summary

© Copyright Berkshire Money Management Inc. – All Rights Reserved.

  • General Disclosures
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms of Use
  • Standard & Poors
  • Dow
  • Links & Website Content