Illustration: The Aesop Tale of the Hare and the Tortoise The flaws of comparing two different things using just one metric … Should you try to compare different investments with each other simply by balances alone? Markets have been going up [at the time I write this] and people feel good when they look at […]
You’ve probably had experiences with different “advisers” without even realizing it (even at your bank). “Adviser” is a broad term ill-defined in the financial services profession. A key part of financial education is to become more aware of what kind of “adviser” are you talking with (not only me, but with any other as well)? […]
Preface Financial planning software today is still a calculation-based approach that derives a supposed solution that most in the profession call a plan. Under the current paradigm, there is much more to be desired. Those desires are currently limited by the perspectives and interests within the software provider community that is also driven by the […]
Many people don’t see the big picture of investing. They can’t see the forest for the trees! Below are three (3) big picture things when it comes to investing. Many focus so much on returns NOW instead of what investing is supposed to do for them over the long term. Markets are always uncertain. The COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic […]
The Happiness Equation, as it relates to investing, is an interrelationship between your perceptions and expectations of investing and events. How do you manage happiness when you can’t manage the markets or the events that influence the markets? The inserted article below explains. The happiness equation from Better Financial Education Note: Your […]
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 […]
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 set […]
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 […]
