AUGUST,  2017 Quit Monkeying Around! In the world of investment management there is an oft-discussed idea that blindfolded monkeys throwing darts at pages of stock listings can select portfolios that will do just as well, if not better, than both the market and the average portfolio constructed by professional money managers. If this is true, why might it be the case? TO READ MORE: OPEN PDF ARTICLE ...

We all have our symbolic security blankets, right? Mine is Madeleine L’Engle’s “Wrinkle in Time.” I first read it when I was a young adult, shortly after it became a Newbery Medal winner and I was still the book’s target audience. It was such a bull’s eye that I continue to revisit it every few years, wrapping myself up in its satisfying triumph of good over evil. For investors, one of...

Here’s a trick question: When does 5,000 = 3,600? The answer is: when you’re counting how many companies the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index is actually tracking these days. The name suggests there are at least 5,000 publicly traded, U.S.-listed companies in the total market, but that number has been shrinking for a couple decades. That’s one of several fascinating insights shared in a recent report from our friends at Dimensional...

So is the Dow going to bust past 20,000 or isn’t it? By the time you’re reading this, maybe it already has. Either way, what does the milestone high-water mark mean to you as an investor? We would propose that the answer is: Not a whole lot. Whenever markets flirt with new highs, you may wonder if it’s some sort of signal that it’s time to cash out, assuming prices aren’t...

First, we published our own “Year in SAGEbroadview Review,” summarizing the posts we shared in 2016. Then, we offered a double-header of fourth quarter and annual market reviews from Dimensional Fund Advisors. Before we set our sights forward, we’d like to share a couple more resources that offer important lessons learned from 2016. If you were with us this time last year, you may recall that the markets were in a...

Two Market Reviews – One Perspective What’s better than one market review? How about two, to compare and contrast? Hot off the press from Dimensional Fund Advisors, we offer a close-up of the fourth quarter just ended, as well as a slightly broader view of 2016’s annual market performance. Whichever review you choose to view, the most important point for both is that neither helps you position your portfolio for the future....

December 2016 Prediction Season Predictions about future price movements come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them tempt the investor into playing a game of outguessing the market. “The close of each calendar year brings with it the holidays as well as a chance to look forward to the year ahead. In the coming weeks, investors are likely to be bombarded with predictions about what the future, and specifically the next year,...

As Nobel laureate Eugene Fama once said, “Investment theory simplifies things that are otherwise shrouded in mystery and confusion.” We couldn’t agree more … but sustaining that level of simplification is a way of life, not a one-time task. That’s why we regularly attend educational forums that allow us to expand our knowledge base and sharpen our critical thinking. In fact, as members of National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA),...

Today we revisit one of the most refreshing investment ideas we know: the randomness of near-term market returns. Pick a year, any year. If you’re ever tempted to guess how capital markets are going to fare in the year following, all you have to do is take a look at this crazy quilt chart, updated here to reflect 2015 year-end data. That should quickly refresh your memory on how impossible it is...