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June 3, 2015 in Investing, SAGE Reads
Can your portfolio survive rising interest rates? (Fortune) It’s the question that everyone has been asking. Here’s a guide to whether your portfolio will be able to withstand the coming rate hike cycle, whether it begins this fall or sometime in early 2016. (Hint: You should be fine as long as you are properly diversified.)  The 5 Rules of Personal Finance That Everyone Should Memorize (themuse) “Most people spend their 20s...

May 26, 2015 in Dimensional, Evidence-Based Investing, Investing
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=""]   ...

May 13, 2015 in Dimensional, Evidence-Based Investing, Investing
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...

April 28, 2015 in Investing
If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been on a blog roll lately, explaining common mishaps investors face when assessing how their investments are performing in ever-turbulent markets. We’ve covered Time-Weighted vs. Internal Rates of Return and Confusing Cost Basis with Fund Performance. Today, we’ve got one more area to explore: Comparing your returns to popular benchmarks such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or the S&P 500 indexes. Compared to What? “How...

April 21, 2015 in Investing, Tax Management
In our last post, we introduced two investment terms that are a little more technical than we normally prefer, but worth knowing when you want to accurately measure your portfolio’s performance:  Time-Weighted Rate of Return (TWR) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Since calculating rates of return and portfolio performance requires complex formulas and computer software that may not be readily available, we often see investors turning to an investment’s cost basis...

April 14, 2015 in Investing
If you’ve been reading our blog posts for a while, you know that we try to avoid financial-speak whenever possible. But until the rest of the world follows our lead, sage investors are best served by familiarizing themselves with two weird, but worthy terms: Time-Weighted Rates of Return (TWR) vs. Internal Rates of Return (IRR). We’ll explain what we’re talking about in a moment. But first let’s talk about why it...

March 2, 2015 in Dimensional, Evidence-Based Investing, Investing
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...

January 20, 2015 in Dimensional, Evidence-Based Investing, Investing
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...

December 9, 2014 in Advisor Role, Investing, Money Management
In our previous post, “How to Hold a Financial Fire Drill,” we discussed the importance of understanding your true risk tolerance and routinely practicing how it applies to your investment plans. That way, when market risks arise for real, you’ll be less likely to abandon those best-laid plans. A key tool to help you stay on course is your Investment Policy Statement (IPS). Your IPS: A Living Document Your IPS is a...