Learning Center

Did you sell in May?

Date23 Jun 2014

Comment0

One of the more persistent investment myths is that it is a winning strategy to sell stocks in May and then wait to buy back into the market around November. The oft-repeated catch phrase is, “Sell in May and go away.” Well, this year if you sold your stocks in May, you would probably have...

Is there such a thing as smart beta?

Date23 Jun 2014

Comment0

“Smart Beta” is a term that is cropping up more lately in professional investment management circles. It is essentially a way that professional investors tweak index funds in hopes of achieving higher returns than funds that simply mimic an index. In April, none other than Goldman Sachs Asset Management acquired a firm that specializes in...

Can Past Performance Predict Future Performance

Date23 Jun 2014

Comment0

Larry Swedroe Most investors are well aware of the SEC’s warning that past performance isn’t an indicator of future performance. That warning often leads to questions like: “If past performance isn’t predictive, why do you believe that the past outperformance of value stocks over growth stocks and small stocks over large stocks is predictive?” The...

A Forward-Looking Assessment of Interest Rate Risk

Date16 Jun 2014

Comment0

By Thomas J. Emmerling and Jared Kizer Much has been written about the risks that rising interest rates pose to fixed income portfolios. However, much of this analysis has been simplistic or focused on historical periods, which are of little relevance in today’s environment of ultra-low nominal rates. On the simplistic side, market commentary has...

When Assessing Investment Advice, Consider the Source

Date09 Jun 2014

Comment0

It can be very difficult to separate the good advice from the questionable and the questionable from the downright irresponsible. Unfortunately, good advice doesn’t always walk around wearing a sign, but there are some red flags to help you avoid the so-called advice that’s actually irresponsible. Case in point: What do you think when you...

Career Advice From ‘The Most Interesting Man In The World’

Date09 Jun 2014

Comment0

I love uncovering tidbits about our financial lives in generally nonfinancial books, music, movies and even television commercials. You’ve no doubt seen the commercials for the Mexican beer Dos Equis, in which a nameless, well-dressed, bearded man only described as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” shares supposed wisdom that is quite intentionally humorous—even hysterical at...

Investing Lessons From the Donald Sterling Saga

Date09 Jun 2014

Comment0

According to the Law Blog on The Wall Street Journal website, controversial Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has retained Maxwell Blecher, a highly respected Los Angeles antitrust lawyer in his fight against the NBA. (Full disclosure: I have enjoyed a personal and professional relationship with Mr. Blecher for many years.) It’s not surprising that Mr. Sterling would elect...

The Potential Problem Looming in Your Retirement Portfolio

Date09 Jun 2014

Comment0

There is a potential problem looming in your retirement portfolio. Unfortunately, there is little you can do about its cause because it resides in the deep recesses of your brain. As we age, the likelihood that many of us will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s or other dementia increases. By some estimates, 14 million people in the...

Learning Center

Categories