Active vs. Passive Archives - Retirement Researcher

Should You Try Timing to Avoid Bad Markets?

By Bob French, CFA | January 11, 2019 |

WHAT IS OCCAM’S RAZOR? Occam’s Razor is a principle attributed to William Occam, a 14th century philosopher. He stressed that explanations must not be multiplied beyond what is necessary. Thus, Occam’s Razor is a term used to “shave off” or dismiss superfluous…

On the Power of Disciplined Investing

By Bob French, CFA | October 13, 2017 |

The appeal of market timing is obvious. Who wouldn’t want to get in and out of the market at the best time every time? We’ve talked a lot about market timing in the past – timing risk premiums, trying to time the markets on a daily basis, and the importance of staying disciplined even when it seems obvious the markets are going to go down.

A Boring Market is a Happy Market, so Why Can’t People Leave Their Portfolios Alone?

By Bob French, CFA | July 20, 2017 |

People use a lot of adjectives to describe the market, but we’re excited to say we are currently experiencing what we would call a “boring market.”

The Problems with Indexing

By Bob French, CFA | June 21, 2017 |

Index funds dominate the passive management landscape (though they are not the entirety). But just because there’s no way to guess which active managers will do well in the future doesn’t mean index funds don’t have problems themselves.

Why Can’t ‘Winning’ Active Managers Keep on Winning?

By Bob French, CFA | June 16, 2017 |

The numbers show that active management simply doesn’t work. There are several arguments against active fund managers, but one of the most damning is that winners don’t seem to repeat.

How Index Investing Became What It Is Today

By Bob French, CFA | April 19, 2017 |

Index investing came from humble beginnings to become one of the most widely used strategies in use today.

One of the Most Successful Active Managers of all Time Shows Why Active Management Doesn’t Work

By Bob French, CFA | April 13, 2017 |

The appeal of market timing is obvious. Who wouldn’t want to get in and out of the market at the best time every time? We’ve talked a lot about market timing in the past – timing risk premiums, trying to time the markets on a daily basis, and the importance of staying disciplined even when it seems obvious the markets are going to go down.

Indexes 101, Part 2: Why So Many Indexes?

By Bob French, CFA | April 11, 2017 |

Everyone has heard of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones, but what’s the difference between the two? And which one should you trust?

Indexes 101, Part 1: What Is Index Investing?

By Bob French, CFA | April 4, 2017 |

Everyone has heard of investing in an index, but not many people understand what that really means, so we decided to break it down for you.

You Can’t Time the Markets

By Bob French, CFA | October 11, 2016 |

The appeal of market timing is obvious. Who wouldn’t want to get in and out of the market at the best time every time? We’ve talked a lot about market timing in the past – timing risk premiums, trying to time the markets on a daily basis, and the importance of staying disciplined even when it seems obvious the markets are going to go down.

Can You Time Risk Premiums?

By Bob French, CFA | September 8, 2016 |

No one really likes risk. We all can deal with it, but that doesn’t mean we want to. Yes, there are people who live to jump out of airplanes and walk on tight ropes with no net, but I’m talking about financial…

What Can We Learn from the Market Disasters of the 1970s?

By Bob French, CFA | June 9, 2016 |

Throughout history, when bad news and events touched the daily lives of investors and caused nest eggs to shrink, it’s been natural to ask, “Is this the end of investing as we know it? Have new developments changed things so much that…