Diversification is a strategy designed to help you avoid unnecessary mistakes 1.  The Easiest Decade for DIY Investors (The Belle Curve, 3/17/2019) "Do you remember all the hoopla about “The Lost Decade” for US stocks? Over a ten-year period the S&P 500 had a negative return. That is a very long time to be down in stocks. But what rarely gets mentioned is that investing in different types of stocks provided positive...

How Does The Dow Relate To Your Portfolio? March 2019 While the Dow and other indices are frequently interpreted as indicators of broader stock market performance, the stocks composing these indices may not be representative of an investor’s total portfolio. For context, the MSCI All Country World Investable Market Index (MSCI ACWI IMI) covers just over 8,700 large, mid, and small cap stocks in 23 developed and 24 emerging markets countries with...

Déjà Vu All Over Again February 2019 Investment fads come and go. Letting short-term trends influence your approach may be counterproductive to pursuing your financial goals. Copyright ©2019 Dimensional Fund Advisors from Dimensional Perspectives Blog Investment fads are nothing new. When selecting strategies for their portfolios, investors are often tempted to seek out the latest and greatest investment opportunities. Over the years, these approaches have sought to capitalize on developments such as the perceived relative strength of particular geographic...

Today we’re taking you to visit Dimensional’s blog, “Dimensional Perspectives,” and specifically their article titled “Key Questions for Long-Term Investors.” Key Questions for Long-Term Investors “Whether you’ve been investing for decades or are just getting started, at some point on your investment journey you’ll likely ask yourself some of the questions below. Trying to answer these questions may be intimidating, but know that you’re not alone. Your financial advisor is here to help. While...

2018 Market Review January 2019 After logging strong returns in 2017, global equity markets delivered negative returns in US dollar terms in 2018. Common news stories in 2018 included reports on global economic growth, corporate earnings, record low unemployment in the US, the implementation of Brexit, US trade wars with China and other countries, and a flattening US Treasury yield curve. Global equity markets delivered positive returns through September, followed by a...

  2018 Market Performance It’s a wrap! 2018 market performance numbers are now available for the fourth quarter and the year. Today, we share Dimensional Fund Advisor’s latest Quarterly Market Review, along with its 2018 Annual Market Review. We hope you’ll use these summaries to reinforce the importance of staying with your own financial goals and risk tolerances, no matter how terrible one year of returns may seem. Please pay special attention to “Why Should You...

Why Should You Diversify? December, 2018 When international stock returns lag, investors may feel tempted to double down on their home market. Historical data suggests the long-term benefits of diversifying globally. For more, visit this week's Dimensional Post Why Should You Diversify or click here for a PDF version. Click image to enlarge SAGE Serendipity: The "Best of 2018" lists are coming out.  Here we've curated a list of lists; a place to start and maybe pick-up...

Are you speed-dating or in an ideal marriage with your investment portfolio? As Dimensional Fund Advisors’ Quarterly Market Review reveals on its summary page, investors have much to appreciate this quarter, with positive returns from U.S. and international developed stocks. Still, “appreciation” is relative; there’s always some asset class outperforming its counterparts – and some underperforming. So, let’s address a question I’ve been hearing: “My globally diversified portfolio has been underperforming the...

Do Mutual Funds Outperform Benchmarks? Dimensional's analysis of US-based mutual funds shows that only a small percentage of funds have outperformed industry benchmarks after costs—and among top-ranked funds based on past results, only a small percentage have repeated their success. Here's the short (2:36 minutes) video for your viewing pleasure. SAGE Serendipity: The New York Times has a great collection of 2-3 minute video's called SCIENCETAKE.  Presented by science writer James Gorman, these...

      What’s That Stock Worth to You? They say your home is your castle, but that doesn’t mean you should have to pay lavish prices to live there – at least no more than the going rate for a similar estate. It’s the same for your investments. You expect to pay something for the holdings in your portfolio, but there’s no sense paying more than market rates. If you do, it counts directly against the...