When The Very Best Fail, Should You Be Trying?
Recently, I received an email from Russell Investments announcing that they had terminated several money managers and hired new ones. The funds that had changes in management were the Russell Emerging Markets Fund, the Russell International Developed Markets Fund, the...
What Happens If The Dollar Loses Its Status As Reserve Currency?
Earlier this month, the People’s Bank of China announced that it would double the allowable trading range for the yuan against the dollar to 2 percent from a midpoint rate it sets every day. This move provides evidence that the government is...
Improving on Fama-French
In 1993, the Fama-French three-factor (beta, size and value) model replaced the single-factor capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and became the standard model in finance, explaining more than 90 percent of the variation of returns of diversified portfolios. While the...
Explaining Momentum Factors
Since the publication of the study “Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency” in 1993, the momentum anomaly—buying past winners and selling past losers, generates abnormal returns in the short run—has received a lot of attention. This anomaly...
The Secret Ingredient to a Happy Retirement: Patience
Many great discoveries come about by accident, like the discovery of the anti-malarial drug quinine, the smallpox vaccination, X-rays and insulin. Here’s a discovery that relates to retirement: the unexpected importance of marshmallows in explaining the difficulty of delaying gratification....
How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off By Your 401(k) Plan
Approximately 51 million Americans have invested an estimated $3.5 trillion in 401(k) plans, according to the Investment Company Institute. If you’re one of them, you’re probably being ripped off, big time. How? Your plan likely includes a dizzying array of investment choices....
“Learning” From Timothy Sykes
Timothy Sykes is offering you an opportunity to make big bucks. According to his website, he turned $12,415 into more than $3.7 million by trading penny stocks. He represents the following “verified” returns: 2014 (year to date): 90 percent 2013: 66 percent...
Allocating Your Most Valuable Asset — You
What is your most valuable asset? Your home? Not likely, even back in 2006. Your 401(k)? Doubtful, even when it was 2007. No, if you’re not yet glimpsing your retirement years, it’s likely that your biggest asset is you—and not...
What you don’t know about Social Security can hurt your retirement
As more of the burden of generating income in retirement falls on the shoulders of retirees—and not the companies who signed their paychecks throughout their careers, in the form of corporate pensions—it’s become increasingly important for retirees to understand the...
React to the Reality, Not the Image of It
Years ago, a friend came home with a new, top-of-the-line road bike. My first thought: How can he afford that? It seemed like such a big purchase based on what I thought I knew. We lived in the same neighborhood,...
