I just finished a new book by Michael Lewis, author of many bestsellers including The Blind Side and Moneyball. His new book, called The Undoing Project, is about the fathers of a relatively new field of study called behavioral economics. Read more
The Original SwitchPoint: Fees
The investment industry has done a phenomenal job of masking their fees – whether hiding them completely or trying to minimize them by stating them as a % of assets. Read more
How to Become (and Stay) Debt-Free
Does it seem like every time you pay off one loan, you find yourself saddled with some new debt? Or maybe you have student loans or a mortgage that seems like will never be paid off? You’re not alone. Read more
Another Wild Market Prediction
It seems the financial media’s favorite thing to do is make wild predictions. The more extreme the headline, the better. Today’s headline1 on Yahoo! Finance was particularly grabby:
“2016 marks the end of the great bond bull market” Read more
Sorting the Professionals from the Salesmen
Recently, I volunteered to be a guinea pig for my sister who is in dental hygiene school. When I arrived, I walked into a room with a couple dozen stations, all with aspiring hygienists in uniform, performing dental exams and cleaning teeth. Read more
Who’s in Control of Your Financial Future?
About a month ago I sat in a college classroom at a conference for alumni. The speaker was a well-renowned academic. Her topic:
“Household Financial Decision-Making: Mistakes People Make, Why, and Ways to Make Things Better.” Read more
Debunking Investment Myths: An Evidence-Based Approach
Over the last several weeks we have looked at four myths that keep investors from having a positive investment experience. Today, I outline a strategy based on decades of academic research, which I believe gives investors the best chance of reaching their goals. Read more
Investment Myth #4: Past Performance = Future Results
Despite the disclaimer on every advertisement for an investment product reminding customers that “past performance is no guarantee of future results,” most investors, and sadly many advisors use past performance as their primary criteria Read more
Investment Myth #3: Superior Skill = Better Performance
A keen intellect and extensive experience are valuable traits for an investment manager to possess. Unfortunately, they are not sufficient to allow them to produce market beating returns. This reality goes against our intuition Read more
Investment Myth #2: Timing Is Everything
We’ve all heard the saying, “Buy low, sell high.” Seems pretty straightforward, right? Actually, it’s not. In reality, constantly trading in an effort to time the market or pick stocks leads to higher transactions costs and taxes, and introduces unnecessary risks Read more