Books and Articles

Tuning Out The Noise

For investors, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the relentless stream of news about markets. By filtering out the noise to help manage your emotions and biases, you can maintain perspective, remain calm, and look beyond the concerns of today.

Fees and Gimmicks Are Squandering Your Investment Returns

Why do we invest? Most of us need to invest in order to fulfill our financial and retirement goals. Unfortunately, most investors still don’t know which actions will help their odds of investment success. There is just too much noise and nonsense that confuses, scares and nudges us into making the wrong decisions.

The Financial News Media Is Detrimental To Your Returns

Although innate biases lead to irrational investment decisions, external levers influence our investment behavior as well – none more so than the financial news media. When seeking information to help your odds of investment success, know the difference between entertainment and sound advice.

What is a Reasonable Fee?

So, what is a “reasonable” AUM fee? Bob Veres is a Financial Planning columnist in San Diego and publisher of Inside Information, considered the most important information resource in the financial advisory space. In 2017 he conducted a comprehensive fee survey (2017 Planning Profession Fee Survey). Here is a summary of the findings.

Six Smart Steps To Investing

Whether you’ve been investing for decades or are just getting started, at some point on your investment journey you’ll likely ask yourself if you are making the right decisions to help your odds of success. Trying to find the answer to this question may be intimidating, but know that you’re not alone. We can help you begin or continue your journey with a smarter approach to investing. Our Six Smart Steps shed light on the key investment principles that help improve your odds of success.

Why We Chose Dimensional Fund Advisors

In our effort to provide superior investment strategies, we developed a relationship with Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment management firm based in Austin, TX. We strongly believe this relationship can help address your investment objectives and help you pursue a better and more successful investment experience.

Fiduciary Standard Best Practices

Best Practices are professional conduct standards that outline what the Best Practices Board at the Institute For The Fiduciary Standard believes fiduciary advisors should do for clients. The practices seek to uphold a high standard of transparent and objective advice.

How Much Should You Save For Retirement?

Most people ask themselves this question at some point in their working life (hopefully, relatively early). With the continued shift toward defined contribution plans, future retirees are being asked to take on more responsibility for their retirement outcomes than in the past. So the question is of vital importance. But is there a good answer?

Behavioral Finance: Remaining Disciplined

Any solid investment plan will only work if it is adhered to during varying market environments. In the face of market turmoil, some investors may find themselves tested, making impulsive decisions that go against their investment plan. Although markets have rewarded discipline, humans are unfortunately not wired for disciplined investing.

Behavioral Finance: Recognizing Our Biases

People struggle to separate their emotions from their investment decisions. Following a reactive cycle of excessive optimism and fear may lead to poor decisions at the worst times. Investors are much better off investing with discipline for the long term, rather than trying to speculate the market in the short term.

Climate vs Weather

Long-term investing vs. trading.

The Stupidest Thing You Can Do With Your Money

From this recent episode of Freaknomics Radio–A study found that only the top 2 to 3 percent of active-fund managers had enough skill to cover their cost. It’s hard enough to save for a house, tuition, or retirement. So why are we willing to pay big fees for subpar investment returns?

Measuring Chance: Luck versus skill in mutual fund performance

From Chicago Booth Review (May 01, 2012): Managers of active funds aim to outperform the stock market by picking what they think are the hottest stocks. When these managers succeed in beating the market, it may seem to investors that this is a sure sign of talent. But according to a recent study by Chicago Booth professor Eugene F. Fama and Kenneth R. French of Dartmouth College, it is impossible to tell whether an active fund manager’s stellar performance is due to skill or just sheer luck. In fact, Fama and French show that most active fund managers do not do better than would be expected by chance.

The Free Dividend Fallacy

From Chicago Booth Review (March 06, 2017): Dividends are not free money (though lots of investors seem to think they are). In a yield-starved economy, many stock investors look to cash dividends as a source of income. Yet retail and professional investors alike misunderstand the value and role of dividends, leading to suboptimal portfolios and market distortions, research suggests.

Cat beats professional investors

From NPRs Planet Money (January 14, 2013).

What’s Next? Heads or tails?

From Chicago Booth Review (August 31, 2015): How the gambler’s fallacy makes for bad decisions.

The added value of financial advisors.

Recent Vanguard research shows that your advisor not only adds peace of mind, but also may add about 3 percentage points of value in net portfolio returns over time (2014).