Let’s begin by dispensing with the obvious. As financial advisors, we’ve got some serious skin in the game when we propose that there is great value to be had by turning to a financial advisor to help you manage the wealth of your life. Still, just because a statement is obvious, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not worth saying anyway. If you don’t believe us, take it from Non Sequitur’s “Obvious Man,”...

October 2014 Living with Volatility, Again By Jim Parker Vice President DFA Australia Limited "Volatility is back. Just as many people were starting to think markets only ever move in one direction, the pendulum has swung the other way. Anxiety is a completely natural response to these events. Acting on those emotions, though, can end up doing us more harm than good." To read more OPEN PDF: Living with Volatility, Again...

To all humor there is an element of truth, especially in Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig’s recently published Devil’s Financial Dictionary. Inspired by late 19th century satirist Ambrose Bierce’s “The Devil’s Dictionary,” Zweig’s devilish definitions take on a range of Wall Street’s financial jargon, which often seems meant more to deceive than inform investors: ASSET GATHERING, n.  The term that asset managers use, when no one is listening, to describe...

I will be in Austin, TX this week attending a Dimensional Fund Advisors Conference. Speakers include their Co-Chief Investment Officers, Eduardo Repetto and Gerard O-Reilly (both rocket scientists, really!) as well as Portfolio Managers and other brilliant people. While I’m away, I wanted to leave you with some suggested reading in case the return of volatility to the stock market has you frazzled, or you are worrying that we are...

September 2014 The Curve Ball By Jim Parker Vice President DFA Australia Limited "There’s a school of thought that says the best way to manage a fixed income portfolio is to base your investment decisions on where you think interest rates are headed. But what if expectations are changing all the time?" To read more: Open PDF: The Curve Ball....

Depending on how you measure it, the U.S. stock market has been relatively calm now for somewhere between 2– 3 years, with no noteworthy corrections to report. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been plenty of alarming news that could have triggered a “head for the hills” correction, but so far, nothing has. Not yet. This has left many investors a tad jumpy, fearing that it’s only a matter of time. As...

September 2014 Down To The Wire - CAPE Fear: Valuation Ratios and Market Timing By Weston Wellington Vice President Dimensional Fund Advisors "As broad market indices such as the S&P 500 have set new record highs in recent weeks, many investors have become apprehensive. They fear another major decline is likely to occur and are eager to find strategies that promise to avoid the pain of an extended downturn while preserving the opportunity to profit in...

As we introduced in our last post, we’ve obtained the rights to share what we feel is an excellent series of articles: Evidence-Based Investment Insights. Here is the final post in this seven-part series. In our last piece, “Managing the Market’s Risky Business,” we described how diversification plays a key role in minimizing unnecessary risks and helping you better manage those that remain. Today, we’ll cover one more benefit to be...

As we introduced in our first installment, we’ve obtained the rights to share what we feel is an excellent series of articles: Evidence-Based Investment Insights. Here is the sixth post in this seven-part series.In our last piece, "The Full-Meal Deal of Diversification," we described how effective diversification means more than just holding a large number of accounts or securities. It also calls for efficient, low-cost exposure to a variety of...

As we introduced in our first installment, we’ve obtained the rights to share what we feel is an excellent series of articles: Evidence-Based Investment Insights. Here is the fifth post in this seven-part series. In our last piece, "Financial Gurus and Other Unicorns," we concluded our exploration of the formidable odds you face if you (or your hired help) try to outsmart the market’s lightning-fast price-setting efficiencies. Today, we turn...