Markets Go Up, and Markets Go Down
Which of these two graphs below seem more realistic to you? The one that is a straight line? Or the one that zigs and zags in an upward direction? The zig-zag chart is the most realistic because it depicts the market for the last ninety years. In those years, the country was just coming out […]
Even If the Fed Starts Lowering Rates, We’re Not Out of the Woods Yet
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has hinted strongly recently about a potential rate cut in September. No surprise there. Conventional wisdom says lower interest rates are good for the economy because they stimulate economic growth, boost consumer spending, encourage investment, and allocate more capital to reducing debt. The stock market tends to respond positively because cheaper […]
Seven Bond Myths Every Investor Should Know
During April’s tariff announcements, however, stocks tumbled as expected, but bond yields rose, meaning their prices fell and didn’t come to the rescue. For many investors (and some advisors), 2022 felt like a déjà vu when both stocks and bonds tanked by double digits amid high inflation and a series of Fed interest-rate hikes. Some […]
Life Study Finds Americans Lack Plans for Retirement Income
Key Findings: retirement income Many Americans lack a plan for how they will draw from their retirement savings for income in retirement and worry about the funds lasting for their lifetime, according to the 2024 Annual Retirement Study done by a major life insurance company. According to the study, “Without a solid strategy, the ongoing […]
Expert Advice on Life Insurance vs. Roth IRA for Retirement
How much life insurance do I need? Families often ask this question when they must balance their protection against premiums. Most prospective buyers of insurance (PBOIs) weigh the probability of death with the cost. Should I self-insure or leave the coverage to an insurance company? PBOIs have asked this core question throughout my 60 years […]
Don’t Forget About Sequence Risk Despite the Current Market Conditions
With the stock market at all-time highs and volatility normal, it’s easy for retirees and near-retirees to get complacent about sequence risk, one of the biggest dangers to a retirement nest egg and investor’s peace of mind. No one knows exactly when the next big market correction will occur, but when it does, as we […]
Dimensional: Five Things I Know about Investing
“My goal is a portfolio I can justify to myself today, based on the information available now. Because unexpected returns will dominate the outcome, I won’t judge my choice on what the portfolio delivers tomorrow.” — Kenneth R. French Read the Article
From the Archives: The Arithmetic of Active Management (1991)
“The best way to measure a manager’s performance is to compare his or her return with that of a comparable passive alternative. The latter — often termed a ‘benchmark’ or ‘normal portfolio’ — should be a feasible alternative identified in advance of the period over which performance is measured. Only when this type of measurement […]
The 50-Year Battle for a Better Way to Invest
“Flexibility is one of the key differences between index investing and Dimensional Investing and where so much of our innovation has taken place.” – David Booth Read the Post
The 50 Years of Friendship That Have Changed Investing Forever
50 years ago, when David Booth first stepped into professor Gene Fama’s class at the University of Chicago, a remarkable friendship started that would change how people think about investing.