Take a random walk down Wall Street

Our analysts will uncover the best stocks to buy. The chart on that stock forecasts a breakout to new highs. Our mutual fund beats the market because our manager is really, really smart. Sure, and the check is in the mail. It is simply amazing that 40-plus years after academic investment researchers began poking holes in Wall Street’s unsupported claims […]

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Avoid dangerous investor mistakes

Investment research has long shown that an investor does best by holding investments in a variety of different assets whose returns are not closely correlated. This type of investing, known as “asset class investing,” has plenty of support in academic research and in practice. In general, a well-diversified asset-class portfolio behaves in a more stable fashion over time and, given […]

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Client Letter – Q2 2004

Much of Wall Street and the financial media are geared up to get you to make investment moves. “Buy, sell, trade, exchange, invest,” are among the verbs they shout at you every day. Few tell you that it is probably better to do little or nothing once you have set up a diversified investment portfolio. Consider this: Assume you invested […]

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Inflation-protected U.S. bonds are set to take off

As interest rates are poised to rise from their current record lows, bond owners are worried about being stuck with their current fixed yields. But not every bond owner is worried: the growing number who have purchased Treasury inflation-indexed securities are confident they will stay ahead of higher rates and higher inflation. The U.S. Treasury in 1997 began offering the […]

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Unrealistic expectations threaten your retirement

Don’t fall into the trap that has grabbed a lot of your fellow workers: they have unrealistic expectations about investment returns and retirement assets and face disappointment in their golden years. A recent survey by Merrill Lynch uncovered some not so surprising mistakes workers are making in their retirement planning. Two of the top concerns of the 1,100 survey participants […]

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Muzzle your urges, boost your return

The stock market has delivered an average annual return of 12.9% over the 20 years ended in March, and individual investors have had access to plenty of decent stock mutual funds that have come close to that return. Why, then, has the average investor realized vastly inferior returns over this period? A study performed last year by DALBAR, an independent […]

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Low savings rate threatens American retirees

Despite all the attention being paid to the problems that may be caused by the imminent retirement of the Baby Boomers and the threat to Social Security, most Americans still aren’t saving enough money for retirement. A new study identifies groups that are most at risk for income shortfalls in retirement. Number one on the list is the low-income single […]

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Where to find real stock market value

Many investors have a vague notion that “small” stocks and “value” stocks are something they should consider for their portfolios. Yet the average investor’s portfolio is often more “market-like,” that is, invested in big U.S. growth stocks. So where do value and small stocks fit in and why would an investor want them? The answer is very important for long-term […]

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