Amending Warren Buffet’s Golden Rule

One of the more damaging pieces of advice to the average investor is Warren Buffet’s famous investment rule: “Rule No. 1: Never lose Money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.” While this folksy wisdom has a great ring to it, it can be easily taken out of context.

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“Sixty Percent Of The Time, It Works Every Time”

You may recognize the quote in the title from the movie Anchorman. This can be a lot like stock pickers, pundits, and TV personalities. You should run from anyone who is using prediction for the basis of advice.

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The Smartest Person in the World Can Still Be a Terrible Investor

Have you ever felt intimidated by the markets? Thought that investing was only for brilliant people?  Maybe you hear jargon like “beta,” “derivatives,” or “standard deviation,” and it just goes over your head? Contrary to what you may think, you can be the smartest person in the world and still be a terrible investor.

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Is Relying On Stock Markets For Economic Signals A Mistake?

If we had signals that told us with certainty what direction the economy was headed, we might have an edge in our investment strategy; we would know when it was a good time to invest when to proceed with caution or put the brakes on.

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How Many Clients Does Your Advisor Work With?

How Barron's Top 1,200 financial advisors effectively serve 521 clients? We have clients from these firms coming to our firm every month looking for a better solution.

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How Long Does It Take To Say For Certain Your Investment Manager’s Performance Isn’t Just Luck?

I find it interesting that consultants and advisors in our industry tend to talk about a manager's skill after a period of outperformance.  After several years of outperformance, consultants conclude that this manager is not merely lucky but skillful.

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The Dirty Little Secret About Index Funds

If you read this blog regularly, you know that we advocate a passive, low-cost, diversified investment portfolio.  Most people equate that to index funds.  For the majority of investors, index funds are a great alternative to their actively managed counterparts.

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Stock Market Predictions Are Worthless

I am not sure what our fascination with predictions is all about.  Whether it is political elections, sports, or the financial markets, everyone seems to be willing to stop and listen to someone willing to make a prediction.  Rarely do we ever go back to evaluate how those predictions pan out?

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You Are Not A Contrarian

It seems like every investor (amateur or professional) bills themselves as a contrarian.  They will tell you that they tend to buy unloved or unwanted companies when they are trading for a great bargain.  The simple fact is that this is very hard.  The Motley Fool has a great article on this very topic.

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