Active managers blow their chance to outperform

Published: December 17, 2002
The past several years have given active investment managers plenty of opportunities to show that they can add value to the investment process. Recent studies have shown that individual stocks have become ...

Want to retire? Save until it hurts

Published: December 17, 2002
The stock market boom of the 1990s did a great disservice to the average retirement investor: it made her feel that big stock returns were the key to retiring in style. From 1990 through 1999, big American ...

How to conquer your own investment biases

Published: November 21, 2002
Believe it or not, all investors are not entirely rational. Well, that doesn’t seem so hard to believe. But understanding common patterns of investor irrationality may help you become a better investor. The ...

Exxon Mobil promotes investment indexing

Published: October 29, 2002
Exxon Mobil has made a bold move in its new 401k savings plan for employees. The company has announced that it will jettison all actively managed mutual fund choices next year in favor of a roster of indexed ...

Client Letter – Q3 2002

By Christopher M. Jones, CFP® | Published: October 15, 2002
The 2000-2002 bear market, which has lasted over two years, has scared many investors. The market’s steep declines are scary, but a long-term view can ease some of your anxiety.  There is no question ...

Chasing hot mutual funds is a losing proposition

Published: September 27, 2002
The returns earned by mutual funds may not be the same as those earned by the investors who buy them. A recent study by a university professor and two public foundation researchers indicates that mutual ...

Bonds have a place in your portfolio

Published: September 27, 2002
Investors have poured money into the bond market this year as they have watched their stock holdings vaporize. The latest mutual fund statistics show that investors are selling more shares of stock funds ...

Average rebounds from down markets are swift

Published: August 19, 2002
Scared investors have a tendency to duck and cover when the stock market experiences a significant decline. The temptation is strong to hide money in fixed-rate investments and to wait the decline out. ...

The big bear strikes—now what?

Published: August 19, 2002
“Things are different this time. Markets can continue to go up, despite stock valuations that have no rational relation to corporate earnings.” That’s what some of the experts were ...

Foreign investing adds vital diversification

Published: July 17, 2002
Through the late 1990s American investors liked to stick close to home. They were well rewarded for doing so—the Standard & Poor’s 500 index returned 16.8% on average yearly, while the Morgan ...