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A Private-Equity Puzzle

Date02 May 2016

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Capital committed to private equity (PE) funds worldwide has risen substantially in the last two decades, thanks largely to U.S. pension funds searching for alternatives to public equity markets that might help them meet their return objectives. Endowments seeking to replicate the successes of the Yale Endowment have also contributed to the growth of PE...

Passive Investing Without Indexes

Date02 May 2016

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Most investors believe all passively managed funds within the same asset class should have the same, or at least very similar, returns. However, while all index funds and passive structured asset class funds are similar in the way that rectangles and squares are similar, they are also very different. All squares are rectangles, but not...

‘Fiduci-what?’ Most clients don’t know what the fiduciary duty really means

Date02 May 2016

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Earlier in my career, I switched firms. The change meant I left a position where I couldn’t legally call myself a fiduciary. But at the new firm, I was required to be one. I was super excited. Finally, I could tell my clients just how great it would be for me to act as a...

When Feelings of Comfort Trump Spreadsheet Math

Date02 May 2016

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“Carl,” my friend told me, in a heated moment of financial debate, “You need a new truck like you need a bullet in the head.” I fired something back about how off base she was, how it would be a sound purchase, and who was she to say anyway? We went back and forth. It...

Don’t Be a “Low-Information” Investor

Date02 May 2016

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There’s a lot of talk in the media about “low-information” voters. Ted Cruz may be responsible for coining the term. He referred to supporters of Donald Trump as those “who have relatively low information, who are not that engaged and who are angry.” He observed that other candidates are beating Trump “when voters get more engaged and...

You Can’t Do Anything You Want

Date02 May 2016

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“A lot of career advice begins right back at age six,” writes author Chris Guillebeau in his newest book, Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do. But in case you’re expecting some fluffy self-help propaganda that over-inflates your ego in an attempt to win your purchase of the book,...

A Bold Way to Pick ‘Winners’

Date02 May 2016

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It’s a mystery to me why so many investors pay brokers to pick “winning” mutual funds. But they do, and it turns out that they aren’t alone in this often fruitless quest. Pension funds pay obscene fees to “consultants” who claim the ability to select outperforming mutual funds or other types of investments. A flawed...

The Paradox of Finding Motivation Through Fear

Date02 May 2016

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I was driving with a friend recently and telling him about some projects that really excited me. I mentioned a new book I’m working on, an article I’m writing and this new hobby of adventure motorcycling in the desert. He interrupted me and said, “How do you stay so motivated and so excited about things?”...

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