When I look back at the courses in high school and college that were most influential in my financial life, it’s a dead-even heat between economics (expected, right?) and English (whoa, come again?). At Wellesley College, there is an iconic economics course taught by Prof. Joe Joyce on capital markets. In this class, students are…
Simple is hot, even fashionable. But in many cases, it’s for all the wrong reasons. Simple is easier to pitch, explain and sell, and therefore also easier to receive, understand and buy. But when simple devolves into simplistic, becoming a one-dimensional end instead of a user-friendly means, it’s no longer an advantage and may actually…
“Can it really be that simple?” Over my career, I’ve heard these words from so many people. Clients, friends and family all just assumed that the process of financial planning needed to be complex. This assumption doesn’t surprise me. The traditional financial industry is built, in large part, on the notion that complexity equals quality….
Recently, a blog post by Chris Marx, a senior portfolio manager for equities at New York-based AllianceBernstein (AB), came to my attention. In it, Marx commented on a March 9, 2015 article in The Wall Street Journal that highlighted the reality that today’s investors should have lower expectations for future returns because valuations are now…
It’s becoming clear that the price for overall U.S. equity market exposure is close to zero. Many market-cap weighted index funds and exchange-traded funds from Vanguard and others are charging expense ratios of five basis points (bps) or less. An interesting, and more difficult, question to answer: How much are you paying to gain exposure…
We left the trail head at 1 a.m. and headed for the summit of the Grand Teton. I had made this climb several times, but my friend was still new to mountaineering. This trip was his first attempt at the popular peak. Our goal was to reach the top by sunrise so we had enough…
Frank Luntz is a corporate consultant, pollster and political consultant to Republicans. His specialty is in messaging and finding the right words to help his clients sell their products or turn public opinion on an issue or a candidate. In a fascinating interview on Frontline, Luntz made some interesting observations about the impact of language….
Many individual investors have seen their portfolios devastated, despite having followed the advice of “experts.” They are left wondering, “What went wrong?” As you may have already guessed, the answer is that following the advice of “future tellers” disguised as investment pros is the wrong strategy. As Jim Cramer once famously said to Jon Stewart…
Quick Take on Fixed Income April 2015 Q: What is prime broker? A: A prime broker essentially allows clients to trade through an omnibus account at the various custodians. Trading through such an account allows clients to remain anonymous, not only protecting their privacy but also making the trading process more efficient and less prone…
In my last post, I discussed how we tend to crave certainty, even when we know, logically, that it doesn’t exist. With investing, it’s a desire to believe that there’s someone who can protect us from bear markets and the devastating losses that can result. That leads to what we can call the “Wizard of…
Index funds and structured passive asset-class funds are similar in the way that rectangles and squares are similar. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Comparatively, while all index funds are passively managed, not all passively managed structured asset-class funds attempt to replicate the returns of popular retail indexes, like the S&P…
Yesterday, a bearded 21-year-old surfer who lives in a 1978 VW bus, and on a self-imposed annual allowance of $10,000, mowed down my beloved Orioles with a 96-mile-per-hour fastball. Blue Jays pitcher Daniel Norris isn’t striving to make a statement with his apparently Spartan existence. He’s simply choosing to live life according to his priorities….
I was struck recently by a commercial for the MFS family of mutual funds. In its advertisement, MFS stated: “We believe in the power of active management.” They then went on to boast about the power of their global network, saying: “There’s no expertise without collaboration.” To determine if there is any evidence to back…
Yesterday, a bearded 21-year-old surfer who lives in a 1978 VW bus, and on a self-imposed annual allowance of $10,000, mowed down my beloved Orioles with a 96-mile-per-hour fastball. Blue Jays pitcher Daniel Norris isn’t striving to make a statement with his apparently Spartan existence. He’s simply choosing to live life according to his priorities….
Your emotions are your portfolio’s worst enemy, more so than an actual market correction. By now, you’re no doubt familiar with the claim by author Michael Lewis in his book, “Flash Boys.” Lewis believes high-frequency traders have rigged the stock market, causing harm to Main Street investors. Many respected financial commentators disagree. They believe high-frequency…