April 18, 2019 Ideal vs. Imaginary Investing “There’s one robust new idea in finance that has investment implications maybe every 10 or 15 years, but there’s a marketing idea every week.” – Nobel Laureate Eugene Fama Nobel laureate and Dimensional Fund Advisors board member Eugene Fama has offered an abundance of quotable insights during the 50+ years he’s been studying financial economics. The quote above is one of our favorites – and as fitting as ever as...

Don’t look at your portfolio – and here is why   1. How to Improve Your Risk-Adjusted Returns (The Irrelevant Investor, 4/11/2019)   “The more you look at your portfolio, the more likely you are to see red, and the more likely you are to see red, the more likely you are to do something you will regret later. This can be seen clearly in the GIF below, courtesy of Nick Maggiulli.”   Graphic Courtesy...

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...

The One Constant 1.  The One Constant in the Stock Market (A Wealth of Common Sense, Ben Carlson, 12/11/2018) Ben Carlson, always with the best charts and words of wisdom. “I’ve used this chart before but it’s worth reposting because we all need reminders during a market correction that they’re perfectly normal and should be expected: The average intra-year drawdown since 1950 is -13.3%. And more than half of all calendar year drawdowns have...

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...