Investment “professionals” could be killing your chances of retiring with dignity, if at all. This extract, from one of America’s most respected financial journalists, William Bernstein, should be read and reread by every investor: “There are two kinds of investors, be they large or small: those who don’t know where the market is headed, and …Read More.
Today marks the final installment in my series addressing the lessons that the markets taught us last year about prudent investment strategies. As we noted previously, 2014 provided us with a total of 12. You may have observed by now that many of these same lessons show up year after year. And many times, the …Read More.
A tale of youthful stupidity holds the key to giving honest, genuine financial advice. The most important event in my life is one of which I was long ashamed. I was an 18-year-old punk with a monumental chip on my shoulder. You know, the kind of kid certain of his indestructability, sure of his immunity …Read More.
Institutional plan sponsors are charged with investing trillions of dollars on behalf of pension plans, endowments and foundations. As a result, the quality of the investment decisions made by these plan sponsors is of great interest and importance to a great many people. Over the years, I’ve met with many institutional plan sponsors to discuss …Read More.
One of the more common and costly investing mistakes that individuals tend to make involves the behavior known as “recency,” which can be described as the bias toward overweighting recent events or trends, and ignoring long-term evidence. Recency leads investors to buy after periods of strong performance (high) and sell after periods of poor performance …Read More.
At the start of each year, I compile a list of predictions that financial gurus and industry experts tell us are a “sure thing.” And each year, I track how many of these predictions actually come true. This marks our fourth and final quarterly review of some consensus financial predictions that pundits in the financial …Read More.
Intelligent and responsible investing can be simple and uncomplicated. It involves buying a globally diversified portfolio of low management fee index funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or passively managed funds in an appropriate asset allocation. After the initial purchase, there is very little to do except rebalancing perhaps once or twice a year and tax-loss harvesting …Read More.
Every year, the markets provide us with some valuable lessons about prudent investment strategies. Many times, the markets offer investors a remedial course that covers lessons it had imparted previously. That’s why I like to say there’s really nothing new in investing, only investment history you don’t yet know. Last year provided us with 12 …Read More.
The day after Christmas, a skier was caught in an avalanche near my home in Park City, Utah. Part of a foursome, the skier slid with the snow for about 500 feet before ending up buried to his neck. Luckily, his party found him, dug him out, and discovered he hadn’t been injured. The group …Read More.
Last year was a tough one for disciplined investors. Disciplined investors know that diversification is a key element of successful portfolio management. But investors who stayed the course and remained diversified were punished for it in 2014, at least in the short term. Disciplined investors will continue to be taunted over the coming weeks and …Read More.
Last week, we discussed the first three of a total 12 lessons that the markets taught us in 2014 about prudent investment strategies. Today we’ll cover lessons Nos. 4 through 6. Many of these lessons appear year after year. But a lot of investors simply fail to learn from them, and instead repeat the same …Read More.
In an article on Jan. 9, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig recommended that investors purchase more Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). That article, and Zweig’s recommendation, has resulted in a lot of questions from both clients and advisors. So I thought I would provide some analysis to help investors make that decision. We’ll begin by …Read More.
I like to keep track of the financial forecasts people make for an upcoming year, especially the ones that gain consensus as “sure things.” Sometimes it seems like too few are willing to hold the financial media—or the “gurus” who appear in it—accountable for their predictions, which is a shame. The critical point to remember, …Read More.
What if there were a guaranteed way to lock-in today’s tuition rates at a diverse group of more than 275 private colleges across the country, for up to 30 years? This could end up being a very significant benefit. According to data compiled by the College Board, the cost of attending a private, nonprofit, four-year …Read More.
I live in a part of the country where we take skiing pretty seriously. It’s common for people to ski a few times a week since there are three great resorts right in our town. Our family is no exception. We ski a lot, but as my wife and I have gotten older, we discovered …Read More.