Get to the Point Already!
There's too much info and we lack the patience to analyze it. Is it any wonder we often make foolish, impulsive, emotionally-driven decisions?
Handling Market Volatility
The market’s up. The market’s down. The market’s up. The market’s down. What the ____ is going on? I need to do something. Help!!!!! Is market volatility driving you crazy? Here are some tips to deal with it: 1) Turn off the news Financial media has no interest in helping you or being your friend. [...]
Joseph Granville’s Market-Timing Lesson
“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” -Sun Tzu The humorously sad side of being in the wealth management business is having listened through the years to the people who want to ignore solid advice and strategies in favor of blindly following the fakakta theories of [...]
The Chinese Farmer
The parable introduces us to a man who refuses to see anything as positive or negative. Why? Because he believes the consequences of good fortune and misfortune are unknowable. Yet this simple truth does not stop us from latching on to whatever guesswork about the future parades as thoughtful insight. Consider some of the things [...]
Here’s Why You Don’t Want To Match The S&P 500
While the academics and money managers argue over the pros and cons of active vs. passive strategies investors often ignore the noise and focus solely on returns. “Did I beat the S&P 500? Good.” That’s all some people seem to care about. What a shame. Prudent investing requires a full and complete understanding of what [...]
It’s as Easy as Riding a Bike
“Knowledge does not equal understanding.” “Truth is truth no matter what I think about it.” “You’re looking at the world with a bias whether you think you are or not.” How much of our ‘knowledge’ prevents us from learning new things that might help make better financial decisions? And remember...it’s as easy as riding a [...]
Investing Thoughts vs. Feelings
Language is powerful. Oftentimes it gets lost in subtlety. During your next conversation listen for whether the person says, “I think” or “I feel.” It's quite telling. Feelings are great. The beauty of humanity is we experience emotion. Thoughts are great too. The beauty of humanity is we are capable of thought without limited capacity [...]
Et Tu, Angie?
We’re strongly considering adding a new category for blog posts dedicated to the wonderfully naïve Milhouse Van Houten. The goal?...expose the frauds who try to buy us with the BS they sell. You know these folks. People like him and her. Read about it here and here. Here’s an exchange between Milhouse and Bart from [...]
Know Where You’re Going Before Choosing How To Get There
Carl Richard is a believer in The KISS Principle. He spends his time providing financial education by explaining complex strategies and terms using simple, easy to understand diagrams. You can find examples in his weekly “Sketch Guy” column in The New York Times and his book “The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb [...]
Performance-Based Pay in the U.S. Mutual Fund Industry
What’s the best way to achieve superior, long-term, risk-adjusted returns? On one side of the argument are the efficient market devotees. They argue cost and turnover are the prime factors of fund performance. Nothing else matters since it isn’t possible to ‘beat the market.’ On the other side of the argument are those with functional [...]