September 2015 Should Investors Sell After a “Correction”? By Weston Wellington Vice President Dimensional Fund Advisors "Stock prices in markets around the world fluctuated dramatically for the week ended August 27. On Monday, August 24, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,089 points—a larger loss than the “Flash Crash” in May 2010—before rallying to close down 588. Prices fell further on Tuesday before recovering sharply on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Although the S&P 500 and Dow Jones...

While summer isn’t officially over yet, once those big yellow school busses reappear, it’s hard to not consider it a wrap. Likewise, we’re ready to wrap our summer series of investment basics. We hope that doesn’t mean you stop learning how to invest in ways that bring the greatest meaning to you and your family. After all, to circle back to the beginning, that is what investing is really all about. To...

August 27,  2015 The Patience Principle By Jim Parker Vice President “Global markets are providing investors a rough ride at the moment, as the focus turns to China's economic outlook. But while falling markets can be worrisome, maintaining a longer-term perspective makes the volatility easier to handle.  " To read more: OPEN PDF  ...

What is an asset class, and why does it matter to you as an investor? Asset classes are categories (classes) by which we organize individual securities (assets) that share significant factors. Significant factors are the ones that help us associate an investment with a particular level of risk and expected return. For example: Significant – Stocks vs. Bonds: Owning (stocks) is inherently riskier than lending (bonds). That’s why stocks and bonds...

If you’re wondering whether there’s something that you, as an investor, should be doing in response to the Greek crisis, here are some points to bear in mind. First, as always, we don’t know what the future holds, for Greece or anywhere else. Even more to the point, we don’t know how the market will react to whatever does happen in Greece. This is why we advise those who already have a...

Is the US market due for a correction? If you Google that question, you will see people have been predicting a correction in the US stock market for years now. A healthy market will experience corrections, so rather than trying to predict them or live in fear of them, investors are better off incorporating them into their long-term strategies. Our investing philosophy is built on the knowledge that markets go both...

May 2015 Gravel Road Investing [column col="1/4"][/column] [column col="3/4"] By Jim Parker Vice President DFA Australia Limited “ Owners of all-purpose motor vehicles often appreciate their cars most when they leave smooth city freeways for rough gravel country roads. In investment, highly diversified portfolios can provide similar reassurance. " To read more: OPEN PDF[/column][divider scroll_text=""]   ...

Have you ever noticed that the best humor usually has an edgy element of truth to it?  Take, for example, this StockCats “Headline Generator” spoof on the commentary that floods our sensibilities every time the market moves a whisker. Admittedly, we financial professionals may be hard up for humor, but I got a good belly laugh out of their creative spin on what (sadly) often passes for intelligent observations. So, yes, there is an abundance...

February 2015 Weather vs. Climate By Jim Parker Vice President DFA Australia Limited "Notice how TV news bulletins put finance next to the weather report? In each, talking heads point at charts and intone about intraday events that are quickly forgotten. Meanwhile, the long-term wealth building story gets overlooked." To read more: OPEN PDF: Weather vs. Climate...

According to Dimensional Fund Advisors’ 2014 Review, two non-U.S. developed countries (in the MSCI Index) experienced 2014 annual returns of +22.77% and –22.04% in seesaw fashion. Can you guess which two these might be? Since there are so many to choose from, let’s narrow it down. Those highest and lowest returns came out of Israel and Norway. Now, which was which? You’d be correct if you guessed that Israel experienced the...