I frequently get asked about the merits of corporate bonds, both investment-grade (IG) and high-yield (HY), relative to government and municipal bonds. I don’t believe the risk-return profile for long-term investors (particularly taxable individual investors) is improved by owning IG or HY corporate bonds compared with simply owning a diversified portfolio of stocks and high-quality…
It used to be that once Americans neared retirement, they had whittled down (or eliminated) their debt. Freed from monthly principal and interest payments, these fortunate individuals were prepared to retirewith dignity. Times have changed. Read the rest of the article on US News.
Most Americans have a high regard for our Canadian neighbors to the north. We respect their honesty, their integrity and, especially, their civility. The statistics on crime in the U.S. and Canada show that Canadians live in a more lawful, peaceful society. Violent crime in the U.S. is appallingly higher per 100,000 inhabitants than in Canada. Murder…
We need not look far to learn that 401(k) plans are imperfect or worse, so instead of lumping on more criticism about how you and your employer have botched your 401(k), let’s discuss how to make the most of a not-so-great situation. Read the rest of the article on Forbes.
We’re still making the same old mistake of buying investments when prices are high and selling them once their prices have fallen. I had hoped things had changed, I really did. But Morningstar’s latest Investor Returns data says otherwise. More than 10 years after I first started thinking about this data, the behavior gap still exists. The…
Multigenerational planning involves the transfer of wealth, but it also extends to intangible concepts such as family values and legacy wishes. Conversations about multigenerational planning begin with the first generation. The success of an estate plan can depend on whether the details of that plan have been properly communicated to family members. Therefore, it is…
So you’ve experienced a financial windfall and you don’t know what to do with it. This is what we refer to as a “luxury problem,” right? Indeed, you’d think this would be the most glorious dilemma possible to befall you and your household. But for some, a windfall can be more of a curse than…
The first two posts in our series on asset allocation focused on investors’ ability and willingness to take risk. Today, we turn our attention to the third of our three tests, the need to take risk. The need to take risk is determined by the rate of return required to achieve financial objectives. The greater the rate of return…
Today we conclude our series on how best to make asset allocation decisions. It’s an easy decision when the analysis of your ability, willingness and need to take risk leads to the same conclusion. For example, one can have a high ability and willingness to take risk but little need. In that case, the answer is simple: Because the marginal…
This final post of the RTM series will explore the importance of discipline. The academic evidence demonstrates that the determinant of almost all of the risk and return of a portfolio is its asset allocation. It’s important to add that because of recency, the most important determinant of the return that an investor’s portfolio actually produces might…
Our last post looked at the issue of what is expected to happen as a country migrates from frontier to developed markets. We should expect to see the cost of capital fall in such a country. Among the reasons is that regulatory regimes, including protections for foreign investors, are typically strengthened. The falling equity risk premium demanded…
My prior post explored the ninth wonder of the world: reversion to the mean. Today, we continue the discussion on this phenomenon. Forecasting stock returns is a more difficult task than forecasting bond returns. While the relationship only holds at long horizons, what we do know is that valuation metrics such as P/E ratios have had an…
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is a list of remarkable constructions of antiquity. They are the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos of Alexandria. Benjamin Franklin…
Over the last few years we’ve seen a dramatic increase in interest in dividend-paying stocks. The heightened interest has been fueled by both the media hype and the current regime of interest rates that are well below historical averages. The low yields available on safe bonds led even many once-conservative investors to shift…
Hedged (long/short) mutual funds are the money management industry’s answer to illiquid hedge fund strategies. The premise of long/short funds is that the managers can apply their security-selection skills to a broader opportunity set, which is to say they can go both long and short, instead of long only. The broader opportunity set should make…