The Hidden Provision in the Department of Labor’s Proposed Fiduciary Rule
The “best interest contract exemption” has profound ramifications for retirement plan participants. In its proposed rule requiring that all advisors to retirement plans act as “fiduciaries,” the U.S. Department of Labor includes a “best interest contract exemption.” In my view,...
How a Loophole Could Gut the Department of Labor’s Proposed Fiduciary Rule
Permitting fiduciaries to accept payments from vendors will likely make the proposed rule ineffective. Washington bureaucrats seem to have a way of making everything complicated. Have you perused the tax code lately? According to The Washington Times, it has 4...
How Poor Decision-Making Affects Your Returns
We tend to think in the short term, but it hampers our ability to invest intelligently. In order to invest successfully, you need to be skilled at decision-making. This is true if you are a do-it-yourself investor or if you...
Your Brain Is Rigged to Panic in the Next Correction
Your emotions are your portfolio’s worst enemy, more so than an actual market correction. By now, you’re no doubt familiar with the claim by author Michael Lewis in his book, “Flash Boys.” Lewis believes high-frequency traders have rigged the stock...
Report Says Ads Show Illusion of Fiduciary Duty
Don’t be fooled. Advertisements can mislead investors on advisors’ responsibilities to clients. It’s funny that there’s even a “debate” over whether brokers should be required to act in the best interest of their clients. It’s even more nonsensical that many...
Some Index Funds Are Bad Choices for Investors
Many index funds are smart choices for investors, but that doesn’t mean all of them are. I have long been a proponent of “evidence-based” investing. For many investors, this means investing in a globally diversified portfolio of index funds with...
Wall Street’s Lame Excuses for Active Fund Performance
The securities industry is working itself into a frenzy trying to explain why you should ignore historical data that indicates most actively managed funds underperform their benchmarks. Some of the reasons they provide do not withstand scrutiny. Here’s a small...
How to Find the Best Investment Advice
One of the most difficult aspects of investing involves sifting through the daily barrage of advice offered by “experts.” More often than not, this advice is calculated to enrich the securities industry at your expense. One way to determine whether...
This Book Obliterates Active Management
An intriguing new book, “The Incredible Shrinking Alpha,” presents an overwhelming weight of research which leads to the inescapable conclusion that the pursuit of “alpha,” or returns above an appropriate risk-adjusted benchmark, is a fool’s errand. The book was written...
Almost Everything You Know About Investing Is Wrong
Many of you have some fundamental beliefs about the process of investing. These beliefs understandably guide your investing behavior. Unfortunately, they are often dead wrong. This is not surprising, because the financial media and the securities industry have a vested...
