Occam’s – “How Does the Situation in Greece Affect Me?”
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 explanations for a given event. This concept is largely ignored within the investment management landscape. This newsletter will […]
For Couples, Not Talking About Money Can Be Costly
I was stunned to read the first paragraph of this article. “Do you know how much money your spouse makes? …According to a biannual retirement survey of over 1,000 couples by Fidelity Investments, it’s a question 43% of couples can’t answer—up from 27% in 2013.” Other interesting data points: “Although 72% of couples say they communicate […]
Bucket of Cold Water Dumped on this Investing Strategy
Poor Greece. Not even the Greek alphabet has been given safe quarter these past weeks. Perhaps it is the ever increasing popularity of ETF strategies and the continuing underwhelming performance of active managers, but one thing is clear if you are trying to sell an investment product: it is best to couch it as an […]
Can Indexing Become Too Big?
This is an issue that comes up as a last ditch effort to attempt to sway the active/passive argument in the active direction. It’s as if after a wave of articles that show the shortcomings of trying to outguess the markets an editor stands up and announces to the staff: “Folks, we need something ominous […]
Taking the Risks That Make Sense
More risk does not mean more return, but more return follows more risk. Which risks make sense for you?
How Many Stocks Does it Take to Be Truly Diversified?
Everyone “knows” you should have a diversified portfolio. What other kind of portfolio would you want? Yet most people don’t really know what diversified means. What does a diversified portfolio look like? How many stocks do you need to own to achieve true diversification? The short answer: All of them. The long answer is a little more […]
Safe Withdrawal Rates for Retirement and the Trinity Study
One of the classic studies in the field of financial and retirement planning is the Trinity Study.
How Asset Location Helps Your Investments Flourish
How you invest is the largest determining factor in the level of returns you will see. But what about the “where” of investing?
How Should Retirement Spending Adjust to Investment Portfolio Performance?
A natural starting point for discussions about retirement spending is the 4% rule. William Bengen look at all the different 30 year periods in US history and found that withdrawing 4% of retirement date assets, and then subsequently adjusting the spending amount for inflation over the next 30 years, would have worked historically as a sustainable strategy.
Why the Dow Doesn’t Work
With Apple’s addition to the Dow (or more properly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average), now is a great opportunity to look at how to think about the Dow, and indices more broadly. Indices are great tools for understanding what is going on in the markets, but you need to understand what to do with those […]
