Money & Investing Blog
May Newsletter – Fiscal Debt and Investment Returns
Investment Returns and Overall Account Growth Your contribution level critical to a successful retirement The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s latest survey of 401(k) valuations looks at account growth by age and tenure (number of years participating in the plan). From January 1, 2011 through January 31, 2012, account values of newcomers under the age of…
Read MoreBeware of Confirmation Bias – And its Assault on Your 401k
There is a useful analogy that relates the observation a goldfish makes when looking through the rounded glass of his fish bowl and us – the human. As we might suspect, a goldfish observing the outside world through the lens of a glass bowl would see things differently than you or I. To the goldfish,…
Read MoreAdvisors – An Analogy to Understanding A Fiduciary Vs. A Non-Fiduciary Advisor
Those who guide individuals on their personal financial decisions generally fall under two categories: those who manage assets acting as a Fiduciary and those who advise clients acting as a Non-Fiduciary. The greatest distinction between these two groups is the incentives behind their guidance. I’ll help clarify what we mean by an analogy. First, the specifics.…
Read MoreApril Newsletter: An Exceptional Quarter and the Monetary Base
Headlines Tout Largest First Quarter Gains in Years! What Happens Next? How can we not be excited! The S&P 500 rose 12.6% over the first three months of this year, the best start since 1998. Foreign stocks rode along, with an 11% gain since December 31st. Over the last 40 years, the record hints that…
Read MoreVideo – The Difference Between Fiduciaries and Brokers
Over the past few years, I have become a big fan of whiteboard illustrations that simplify concepts which can be challenging to understand. The video below by HighTower Whiteboard Animation does a great job of simplifying the confusion over the difference between brokers and a fiduciary in a nice little analogy. Can’t view? Click here…
Read MoreMarch Newsletter – Earnings Estimates Dropping
February Market Returns Good news for aggressive investors Aggressive investors were rewarded in the month of February with the Dow Jones Aggressive benchmark returning 4.63% on investor capital. The S&P 500 index, the broadest and most comprehensive measure of U.S. equities, returned 4.32%. International investors did equally a well with the Morgan Stanley Capital International…
Read MoreFebruary Newsletter – Considering Risk When Evaluating Your Investment Options
Adding Measures of Risk to Your Fund Evaluation Picking your funds based solely on performance is a common mistake Return numbers are the most readily accessible pieces of information available to you as an investor. As a result, it is too easy to make fund choices for your 401(k) based on those returns. The level…
Read MoreA Mountain Climber’s Perspective on Risk
Imagine you’re a mountaineer about to scale the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. As you hike to the bottom of the face your level of risk to injury is relatively low. You might trip and fall on your hike but any injury is nonetheless negligible. In this situation, your exposure to downside…
Read MoreBeManaged Year End Newsletter – 2011 Was a Treacherous Ride to Nowhere
Conservative Investors Rewarded in 2011 A treacherous ride to nowhere Pretend for a moment you pulled off your best Rip Van Winkle imitation and slept through 2011. You pick up a “Year in Review” newspaper, and find out: A number of European countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) are close to defaulting on their debt. The…
Read MoreBeManaged Holiday Hours
We hope you are all getting ready for this fast approaching holiday season! And because we wanted to best prepare you for the upcoming weeks, we’d like to let you know what our support hours will be. We will be observing limited hours the following days: – Friday, December 23 – 8:00 AM – 12:00…
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