One of the longest-standing debates in investing is over the relative merits of active portfolio management versus passive management. With an actively managed portfolio, a manager tries to beat the performance of a given benchmark index by using his or her judgment...
The Art of Managing Retirement Assumptions
A retirement plan is built on a set of assumptions that can’t be validated until it’s too late. One key to successful retirement planning is carefully setting assumptions and revising them often. Retirement calculators make it so easy. Pick a retirement date. Estimate...
Converting Retirement Savings to Retirement Income
You've been saving diligently for years, and now it's time to think about how to convert the money in your traditional 401(k)s (or similar workplace savings plans) into retirement income. But hold on, not so fast. You may need to take a few steps first. Evaluate your...
Suitability vs. Fiduciary: Is your Advisor Working in Your Best Interest?
Picture, for a minute, the last time you went to the doctor for an illness or injury. Chances are, your doctor took your vitals, assessed your full battery of symptoms and when they started, and then used their expertise to diagnose and prescribe an optimal solution....
Spring Cleaning Your Finances
The arrival of spring often signifies a time of renewal, a reminder to dust off the cobwebs and get rid of the dirt and grime that have built up throughout the winter season. And while most spring cleaning projects are likely focused on your home, you could take this...
April 2017 Monthly Insight: Fear, Greed, and Four Behavioral Biases
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. -Sir Winston Churchill Greed and fear are the two dominant forces that move markets on a daily basis. When stocks are going up, an investor might feel greedy and rush to buy more shares at increasing values,...
March 2017 Monthly Insight: Risk Tolerance, Risk Capacity, and Risk Perceptions
“The confidence people have in their beliefs is not a measure of the quality of evidence but of the coherence of the story the mind has managed to construct.” — Daniel Kahneman Risk Tolerance, Risk Capacity, and Risk Perceptions are important concepts in investing. As...
February 2017 Monthly Insight: Exponential Growth
“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is the inability to understand the exponential function.” - Dr. Albert Bartlett Do you understand the theory of exponential growth and its relationship to investing? Could you teach the concepts to a middle school class?...
Are You Nearing Retirement?
You've worked hard your whole life anticipating the day you could finally retire. Well, that day has arrived! But with it comes the realization that you'll need to carefully manage your assets so that your retirement savings will last. Read the full...
January 2017 Monthly Insight: Looking Back and Looking Forward
“A year from now, you're gonna weigh more or less than what you do right now.” -Phil “Dr. Phil” McGraw The year in review The corollary to Dr. Phil’s quote above is, “A year from now the market will be more or less than it is now.” No one knows where 2017 will end...