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It’s Time to Board the Index Express

Date08 Dec 2014

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The news keeps getting worse for active management. Here’s a summary: Poor year-to-date performance In an article on MarketWatch.com, Mitch Tuchman references data from Bank of America indicating only 17.7 percent of active managers have beaten a large-cap index benchmark year to date. That is a significant decline from last year, when 40.5 percent beat...

What are Municipal Bonds?

Date08 Dec 2014

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Q:What are municipal bonds? A:Municipal bonds are debt instruments issued by municipalities in any of the 50 states by the following entities: 1) territories, subdivisions, counties, cities, towns and villages of the state, 2) school districts, 3) agencies such as authorities and special districts created by a state and 4) certain federally sponsored agencies, such...

The Risks Of Carry Trade

Date08 Dec 2014

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The carry-trade strategy involves borrowing (going short on) a currency with a relatively low interest rate and using the proceeds to purchase (going long on) a currency yielding a higher interest rate, capturing the interest differential. The strategy can be “enhanced” though the use of leverage. The success of this strategy has led to its...

Gold Is A Hedge—If You Have Time

Date08 Dec 2014

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Gold has long been used as a store of value, as a unit of exchange and to make jewelry. More recently, due to the popular view that it’s a safe haven in times of economic trouble, gold has come to be thought of as an investment asset with a potential role in the asset-allocation decision,...

A Close Look At Private Equity

Date08 Dec 2014

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The private equity industry has changed substantially since the “Prudent Man” rule was modified in 1978 to give institutional investors the ability to allocate part of their portfolios to alternative assets. The industry has grown tremendously over the past 30 years, thanks largely to high returns on early investments. Total fundraising by buyout and venture...

Understanding The Value Premium

Date08 Dec 2014

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Historically, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks. The evidence is persistent and pervasive, both around the globe and across asset classes. While there’s no debate about the premium, there are two competing theories to explain its existence. The Classic Theory The theory from classical financial economics is that value stocks are the equities of riskier...

The “Hit By the Bus” Binder

Date08 Dec 2014

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By Brian Zdrowak I am 35 years old, and the world is in front of me. I have a wonderful and supportive wife, three fun and energetic kids under the age of 5 and a dog. My wife and I are trying to balance it all: being good parents, finding time for each other, playing...

A 4-Step Process To Integrating Money And Life

Date08 Dec 2014

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Once you’ve abandoned the pursuit of balancing money and life in favor of integrating the two, the question still remains: Now what? How the heck do I better integrate money and life? Like most personal finance dilemmas, the answer is simple, but not easy. It’s simple because it doesn’t require many steps. What’s more, it’s...

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