Diversification Works In A Crisis (But It Doesn’t Work Miracles)
There are a lot of myths about diversification. Today, I want to address a pernicious lie floating around out there that diversification only works when times are good.
How Does Diversification Actually Work?
Diversification is a good thing. Nearly everyone agrees that it’s just about the only free lunch in finance.
But not many people stop and think about how diversification actually helps them, beyond the general “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” argument.
US Markets Are Outperforming Global Markets, What Should You Do?
To say international stocks haven’t been doing great relative to US stocks is a massive understatement. What does that mean for your portfolio?
Most of the investment advice you get is (or should be) conditional. Advisors tend to steer clear of definitive, blanket statements, but this is one that I’m pretty comfortable making if you have stocks in your portfolio, you should probably own both domestic and international st
Can You Rely On Dividends For Income?
There’s real value in knowing where your money will come from. Hence the appeal of income investing – building a portfolio focused on creating a long-term steady stream of income…But income investing presents a few problems.
The Most Important Investment Decision You’ll Ever Make About Your Portfolio
When most people think about investing, they’re thinking about stuff that doesn’t really matter. They’re caught up in the minutiae: What fund should I own? How fast did the iPhone 7 sell out (and are people really going to be okay with no headphone jack)? What sector is going to take off this fall? But that’s not really what determines your portfolio’s fate. What really matters is your ratio between stocks and bonds.
Should You Keep International Stocks in Your Portfolio?
There will always be some asset class that does poorly. Over the last few years, one of those asset classes has been international stocks. They have underperformed US stocks each of the previous three years, and it’s looking like they’ll do it again this year. Given this underperformance, we’ve had some people ask why we […]
Should You Add Real Estate to Your Portfolio?
We talk a lot about stocks and bonds, but we spend less time on hard assets like commodities or real estate. Investing in real estate is very similar to investing in stocks, so it requires many of the same principles as any other asset class, just with a little twist.
Should Your Portfolio Include Commodities?
When it comes to investing, a whole bunch of magical investment solutions seem to be floating around out there, but should you really do anything differently?
What Can We Learn from the Market Disasters of the 1970s?
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 the old patterns no longer apply?” These four stories should help illustrate an […]
The Hidden High Costs of Index Funds
Here we cover the basics of index funds. Today, many investors use index funds because they provide an easy way to gain cheap, diversified exposure to specific areas of the market. The question is this: Is an index a precise representation of the sector of the market it describes?
