Market Volatility & The Patience Principle
Global markets have been providing investors a rough ride. While falling markets can be worrisome, maintaining a longer-term perspective makes the volatility easier to handle. A typical response to unsettling markets is an emotional one. We quit risky assets when … Continue reading
Making the Value of Advice More Concrete and Quantified
It is an understandable concern: from the prospective client’s point of view, they want to make money and achieve their goals. Yet the only immediate certainty in working with an advisor is to be paying out money. What value can … Continue reading What to do in this Panicky Market – Part 2: Tax Loss Harvesting
The sky did not fall. The sun came up this morning. The markets even rebounded! — at least as of the time of this writing at 1:30PM on August 25th. So now what? Rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting… Tax-Loss Harvesting Many … Continue reading
What to do in this Panicky Market
Some of the most entertaining times to be a long-term investor are those periods when short-term investors are looking over their shoulders for an excuse to sell. They are convinced that the market is going to go down before they … Continue reading
Client Letter: Portfolio Allocation Changes
We completed our regular rebalancing process last week, and you may have noticed some activity in your accounts. In conjunction with this rebalancing, we also made a few changes to our investment policy allocations in light of future expected … Continue reading
The Value of Objective Financial Planning
Both Vanguard and Morningstar recently released studies quantifying the benefits of working with a financial advisor. The studies were meaningful and more so addressed the quantitative and not the qualitative benefits. The qualitative are subjective, more difficult to … Continue reading
One Of The Biggest Retiree Investing Mistakes: Focusing On Yield Rather Than Total Return
It is common that someone approaching retirement starts focusing on principal preservation. In fact, it often seems that retirees swear allegiance to a commandment: “Thou shall not invade thy principal.” This mindset causes a focus on income-oriented investments … Continue reading
DFA Earns Top Stewardship Mark from Morningstar
Morningstar recently issued a new Stewardship Grade for Dimensional Funds Advisors or DFA. The firm’s overall grade–which considers corporate culture, fund board quality, fund manager incentives, fees, and regulatory history–is an “A” – the highest rating. DFA has been the … Continue reading
Should You Have Managed Futures (Trend Following) In Your Portfolio?
“Managed futures” also known as “trend following” is an investment strategy that have historically achieved strong performance in both up and down markets, exhibiting low correlation to traditional stock and bond investments. It was one of the few strategies that … Continue reading
The Science of Investing & Factors You Can Use To Build Better Portfolios
Investors often use haphazard methods of selecting investments and completely ignore the science of investing. For decades now, academics have studied investment markets and conducted empirical research to try to identify what works and what does not work when it … Continue reading
