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,...
Determining the Markup on Municipal Bonds
Most of the market news you hear tends to be about stocks, but bonds are just as useful a tool for most investment portfolios. One type in particular, the municipal, or “muni” bond, remains very popular. These bonds are issued...
The Best Investment Strategy? Getting Out of Our Own Way
We’re still making the same old mistake of buying investments when prices are high and selling them once their prices have fallen. I had hoped things had changed, I really did. But Morningstar’s latest Investor Returns data says otherwise. More than 10...
Why a Fed Governor Bought a Home When He Knew the Market Was Teetering
Frederic Mishkin was in a bind. In January 2008, his wife wanted to buy a house, but as we all know now, the housing market was in the midst of a crash. More than one person probably shared similar doubts...
The Three Kinds of Investors Who Should Sell Their Stocks Now
You should never make investing decisions based on what the market is doing, except for now, maybe. Past experience and reams of studies tell us there is no way to time the market and that we should buy and hold....
A Farm’s Lessons in Long-Term Planning
When I ask you to think long term, what comes to mind? Ten years from now? One year? One week? In a world where excellence is now measured in milliseconds, it can be incredibly difficult to think past the moment that’s right in front of us.
Forget Market Timing, and Stick to a Balanced Fund
Investors were stung, badly, by the financial crisis of 2008. No one wants to go through an experience like that again, which has led to renewed interest in an investing approach called tactical asset allocation
Forget Market Timing, and Stick to a Balanced Fund
Investors were stung, badly, by the financial crisis of 2008. No one wants to go through an experience like that again, which has led to renewed interest in an investing approach called tactical asset allocation.
The Trap of Too Many Choices
I recently got a new smartphone. In the setup process, I was presented with all sorts of options. Selecting a language was pretty easy, but I had to think harder about some of the other ones. Did I want the...
How to React to Diminishing Returns
The first piece of pumpkin pie is a real treat. The second piece might be good. But we may almost have to force ourselves to eat the third. Instead of enjoying it, we’re miserable. Why doesn’t the last piece taste as good as the first
