Learning Center

Don’t Play The Loser’s Game

Date13 Apr 2015

Comment0

Recently, a blog post by Chris Marx, a senior portfolio manager for equities at New York-based AllianceBernstein (AB), came to my attention. In it, Marx commented on a March 9, 2015 article in The Wall Street Journal that highlighted the reality that today’s investors should have lower expectations for future returns because valuations are now...

Add Uncertainty to Your Financial Plans

Date13 Apr 2015

Comment0

Human beings don’t like uncertainty, especially when we’re contemplating our financial futures. It’s not enough for us to think that we’ll have enough money to send our kids to college, or to retire. We want to know exactly how much money we’ll need to achieve those goals — and precisely how we’re going to get...

UK Exceeds US In Common Sense

Date13 Apr 2015

Comment0

Recent events have led me to conclude that, at least in some ways, the U.K. is ahead of the United States when it comes to investing. The first—and by far the most important—reason I have for drawing such a conclusion is that in January 2013, all licensed financial advisors in the U.K.were required to become...

The Stock Picking Era Is Over

Date13 Apr 2015

Comment0

I’m sure Jim Cramer will be the last one to leave the burning building, but the era of stock picking is basically over. He continues to talk about index funds as being adequate for those who don’t have the time to research individual stocks, but investors — in increasing numbers — are too smart to...

The One-Page Financial Plan

Date13 Apr 2015

Comment0

If you’re like most Americans, you may be confused, or even paralyzed, when it comes to developing a financial plan. In fact, most investors I’ve met—including many of those who have a relationship with a stockbroker—don’t have a written investment plan, let alone an overall financial plan designed to incorporate estate planning and risk management...

Diversification Is the Sane Alternative to Betting Big on One Investment

Date06 Apr 2015

Comment0

You made a huge mistake last year with your money. You know this now, right? The only investments in your portfolio that did very well were probably United States stocks. Bonds may have held their own, but everything else was just pitiful. International stocks performed horribly and emerging markets weren’t much better. What were you...

Excuses For Active Managers

Date23 Mar 2015

Comment0

As sure as the sun rises in the east, the start of each year brings with it a fresh wave of assurances from the “gurus” who appear in the financial media that this year will be a stock picker’s year. And as sure as the sun sets in the west, the year invariably ends with...

A Mystery in Hedge Fund Investing

Date23 Mar 2015

Comment0

When I look at hedge funds, there are three data points that keep bothering me. They create a pattern that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I hope you can help me understand what I’m missing. 1. Hedge fund performance has been terrible. In 2014, the Barclay Hedge Fund Index returned 2.88 percent. In that...

Learning Center

Categories