The time for reflection comes to all of us at one time or another. These are 9 key questions an investor should ask themselves. This is not an exhaustive list, rather one that gets to the meat of the matter. The questions and answers are timeless, applying all the time. What sort of competition do […]
With stock indices continuing to set new highs, does this mean negative returns for stocks are on the horizon? If prices increasing over time was a troubling development, what would be the point of investing at all? You would think investors would realize there is no potential for future gain, and not invest. So why do […]
As investors ring in the new year, some may see the occasional headline about the “January Indicator,” “January Barometer,” or “January Effect.” This theory suggests that the price movement of the S&P 500 during the month of January may signal whether that index will rise or fall during the remainder of the year. So every […]
People focus on returns, average returns, good or bad returns. Rather, progress isn’t made over short terms, but over the longer term. So how often have the markets been positive? The below article explains how to better view markets and how you should participate in them for healthier and wealthier outcomes. It illustrates how infrequent […]
Markets are always uncertain. Actually, as the article below states, markets aren’t uncertain … uncertainty is a human condition that is emotional and the markets simply reflect this emotion among the many other emotions market participants feel. I like to schedule posts in advance. You’ll notice the article below is dated May … when the […]
What are factors for investing? How are they determined? Why are they useful? Your Complete Guide to Factor-Based Investing: The Way Smart Money Invests Today Paperback – October 7, 2016 by Andrew L Berkin and Larry E Swedroe discusses this. What are factors? “A numerical characteristic or set of characteristics common across a broad […]
There is a cost to indexing that most investors are unaware of. It is called “reconstitution.” What is reconstitution and how may the costs involved be solved? What is an index? An index tracks changes in the markets – think of it kind of like a weather barometer. The first article below discusses how the reconstitution effect […]
This brief slideshow discusses some elements necessary to recognize that our emotions and reactions to investing and markets often hurt results. Our brains are NOT wired for investing. Discipline and a focus on what you can control are important to success. There is an investing approach that is based on discipline and evidence from research in […]
DOW 20,000. Is that good? Or is that bad? Guess what – this is simply another way point much like DOW 15,000 was, or DOW 10,000, or pick any DOW number. The Power of the Markets Markets don’t know your specific emotions and behaviors – so the markets march on ignoring them. It is best […]
Indexes were originally developed in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, as a barometer to what markets were doing overall, rather than trying to determine trends of the cumulative market by looking at different specific stocks making up the market; because, some stocks may fall, and others may rise in price, but what is the overall […]
