In “Close Encounters with the Market Timers,” I discussed why having your portfolio managed actively may have serious consequences on your returns in the long run. As mentioned previously, actively managed funds generally fail to beat their target benchmarks over long periods of time. There are many reasons for this, but the principal reasons are high fees and costs. These […]
Month: September 2014
The Curve Ball
Market expectations about interest rates change because of news. This makes it very difficult to build a coherent investment strategy around a forecast. In a recent article, Bloomberg News noted that the rally in the US Treasury market in 2014 was stronger than every economist surveyed by its journalists had predicted.1 US 10-year yields were around 2.3% at the end […]
Social Security: Timing Matters
A few weeks ago Chris recommended that I read a new book, “Social Security Strategies”, to better understand some of the strategies that clients can use to get the most out of Social Security over their lifetimes. As the name implies, the authors lay out different strategies on when to begin Social Security benefits based on profiles of an individual […]
How to Avoid the Next Madoff (especially if you work with a financial advisor)
Over five years ago, Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for scamming many investors–both novice and expert–out of billions of dollars. It surprised me that so many experienced investors could fall for his lies and believe that his consistent returns were legit. Many of Madoff’s victims were clients of financial advisors, who had foolishly invested their clients’ funds with Madoff. […]
