There are three truisms that keep finding new confirmation and that investors should ignore at their own risk: Buy and hold the market, don’t try to beat it. Index fund investors will beat most other investors. Stodgy value stocks usually beat sexy growth stocks. Two new real-world studies covering the U.S.market since 1957 dramatically illustrate these points. In one, the […]
During the last quarter, investors experienced a lot of volatility in the markets. Although the markets recovered considerably by the end of the quarter, most diversified portfolios are still down slightly for the quarter (but remain positive for the year). Fortunately, the last 2-3 years have had such strong returns (for internationally diversified portfolios) that you may have started to […]
Human beings seem to come ready-equipped with cognitive biases related to their perceptual equipment and adaptations to the world throughout evolution. Investors who want to do better in the markets and feel better about what they are doing must learn to recognize these states of mind. Here is a summary of the major biases covered in previous articles in this […]
Inflation is one of the hardest concepts for an investor to internalize. We tend to think naturally in nominal prices—that is, the price on the sales sticker—rather than the inflation adjusted price. For instance, which “feels” like the cheaper one-pound loaf of white bread—the one that cost 51 cents in October 1980, or the one that cost $1.04 in October […]
I have some very important news to share. I recently purchased a property in the Town Center district of Macungie (just south of Allentown), and I am almost finished renovating this two-story Colonial home (originally built in 1936). I am planning to move Keystone Financial Planning to its “new home” on April 24th, assuming that everything goes as planned. I […]
This article provides some tips to “jump-start your retirement savings.” Christopher M. Jones recommends that you “try to diversify across tax-deferred and taxable accounts.” Read the Full Article
Expenses and investment style matter to investors looking for the highest gains on stock mutual funds, according to a recent survey by Investment News. Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) of Santa Monica, California, turned in the best overall stock mutual fund performance among its peer group of the largest 25 mutual fund companies, the trade publication reported. Investment News weighted the returns of individual […]
This article offers some rules of thumb that can “provide perspective about your money and give you ideas to restructure your spending and savings habits.” “Your budget should be based on your priorities, what you value,” advises Christopher M. Jones. Read the Full Article
Happy New Year! We had a pretty good year in 2005, with regards to overall portfolio returns, which were more in line with historical averages than the past two years. Unfortunately, for the typical U.S. investor who is overweighted in U.S. large stocks (as measured by the S&P 500 Index below), 2005 was not a very good year. Also, bonds […]
