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December 3, 2014 in Advisor Role, Investing, Money Management
Former director of financial services at Dimensional Fund Advisors, now retired, Dan Wheeler continues to share financial insights on his personal blog. In his post, “Fire Drill,” Wheeler recommends practicing what you will do the next time the markets drop, especially if the declines are as precipitous as they were during the financial crisis in 2007–2008. Otherwise, he observes, now that the pain we experienced then has started to fade,...

October 31, 2014 in Dimensional, Evidence-Based Investing, Investing
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...

October 29, 2014 in Behavior/Psychology, Investing
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...

October 13, 2014 in Investing, SAGE Reads
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 9, 2014 in Evidence-Based Investing, Investing, Money Management
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 6, 2014 in Dimensional, Investing
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...

August 26, 2014 in Evidence-Based Investing, Evidence-Based Investment Insights Series, Investing
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...

August 19, 2014 in Evidence-Based Investing, Evidence-Based Investment Insights Series, Investing
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...

August 12, 2014 in Evidence-Based Investing, Evidence-Based Investment Insights Series, Investing
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...

August 2, 2014 in Evidence-Based Investing, Evidence-Based Investment Insights Series, Investing
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 fourth in this seven-part series.In our last piece, “Ignoring the Siren Song of Daily Market Pricing,” we explored how price-setting occurs in capital markets, and why investors should avoid reacting to breaking news. The cost and competition hurdles are just too tall....