It’s been a brutal stretch for retail traders. Stocks are approaching a bear market. A selloff wiped $200 billion off cryptocurrencies in a single day. And Morgan Stanley found that amateur investors who jumped into the market when lockdowns began in 2020 have lost all their gains.
Advisors who use Dimensional funds are generally believed to more likely adhere to their investment strategies than their peers. A comparison of fund and investor returns calls this conventional wisdom into question.
Some big-name investors forecast that Bitcoin will eventually hit $100,000, $1 million or more. It could very well do that, but for now, its price is closer to $0. That’s both a risk and an opportunity.
The nation’s local governments are expected to sell $20.2 billion of debt over the next month, the most since early December, according to a Bloomberg index that tracks municipal bond sales announced for the next 30 days. The gauge doesn’t represent the full tally of what actually hits the market, as many deals come with less than a month’s notice.
Since 1992, The Belkin Report has used Michael Belkin’s proprietary forecasting model to project the performance of market sectors, groups, and specific stocks. It provides three‐ and 12‐month forecasts for financial markets based on rates of change. Because of its track record, The Belkin Report has become a trusted resource for top hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds across the globe.
Larry Swedroe and Sam Adams’ new book, Your Essential Guide to Sustainable Investing, resolves the confusion in sustainable investing.
Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen and Cathie Wood have spent the past few days on Twitter exchanging ideas about how investing and financial markets work — all in the name of liberating small-fry investors from elite giants that manage and peddle index funds.
The U.S. economy contracted 1.4% in the first quarter, leading some investors and analysts to raise the specter of the dreaded “R” word: recession.
There are no shortage of bears making similar claims these days. Between the Russia-Ukraine war, the aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve, soaring inflation and Covid lockdowns in China, there are plenty things to worry about. The S&P 500 has already lost 12% this year, while the Nasdaq Composite cratered into a bear market after sliding more than 20% from its peak in November. Key bond benchmarks are down more than 10%.
The number of daily trades surpassed 60,000 on a few days in late April, levels last seen during the 2020 pandemic-induced selloff. In March, that figure averaged around 42,600, according to trade data from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.
Municipal bonds are heading for their worst start to a year on record, and fund managers say nailing the direction of the $4 trillion market from here likely has little to do with the fiscal health of U.S. states and cities.
Our view is that the equity market is in a tug of war between a good earnings tailwind and a modest valuation headwind.
Does a risk-free bond with 7% yield interest you? If so, read about the red-headed stepchild of the bond world that is finally attracting investors.
The surging popularity of direct indexing has led to confusion. Some believe it is barely indistinguishable from indexed investing, while others claim it is active management “in drag.”
An unusually strong tug of war between economic forces is playing out in global markets, with a booming economy and low unemployment offset by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expanded inflation. Expectations over the timing and magnitude of Fed interest rate increases rapidly evolved as clarity began to emerge around central bank responses to inflation.
To start, let’s discuss what diversification is and what it is not.
Because 529 plans are exempt from SEC oversight, they can charge higher fees and use that revenue in ways that do not benefit plan participants. New research shows some states are guilty of this abuse.
As dangerous as it is to simply extrapolate past returns into future expectations, an even bigger mistake is planning a financial future based on nominal gross returns, forgetting about how large bite expenses, taxes, and inflation will take from the bottom line. Use our premium membership service to forward this article to clients with your logo.
The value of bonds directly owned by households fell by $18 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, dropping to the lowest level since 2008, according to Federal Reserve data. Instead, those buyers are moving toward mutual funds and exchange traded funds, which have roughly doubled their muni holdings over the last decade.
The $4 trillion state and local-debt market just logged its most volatile 10-day period since the early 2020 selloff, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Benchmark yields rose as much as 11 basis points on Tuesday, driving the market to its worst day of performance since April 2020. AAA yields rose as much as 2 basis points as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
The municipal-bond market is ending its worst quarter in about 40 years with a 6.4% loss, a dramatic pullback for an asset class that investors favor for its stability. The loss so far this year is in line with bonds globally as central banks increase interest rates to combat the fastest inflation in decades. The municipal market is still underperforming U.S. Treasuries, heightening investor concern.
It’s been a bleak stretch in the $4 trillion municipal-bond market, with returns slumping, retail investors dumping bonds and volatility giving issuers pause. But some portfolio managers are jumping into the fray.
The academic evidence shows that selecting investments, such as mutual funds or stocks, based on past performance is a terrible idea. Use our premium membership service to forward this article to clients with your logo.
The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes(Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.
The U.S. government has long offered myriad contrivances and enticements to get Americans to save enough for a comfortable retirement — so far with woefully inadequate results. But why should it be involved at all? Why can’t people be responsible enough to prepare for an entirely foreseeable event?
Do the investment products that advertise themselves as ESG-compliant actually deliver?
Reflecting on the history of our family office, our investing philosophy mirrors how previous generations built their wealth through farming. They patiently waited to harvest the crops they planted; we buy securities and patiently wait for them to appreciate.
In June of 2021, KCR’s Equity Research Team wrote a brief but pointed review of the legendary treatise on value investing, A Margin of Safety by Seth A. Klarman.
After spending many years in the planning profession, I’ve found that advisors place superfluous importance on speaking intelligently and comprehensively.
Investors continue to need a balanced portfolio, including fixed income. But the bond markets are challenging: Rates are low, duration risk is high, and runaway inflation is putting pressure on long-term rates. “Buy and hold” fixed-income strategies will not work as well as they have in the past. A better alternative is a tactical, disciplined approach to when and how to invest in fixed income.
I’ll take an order of flat fees (otherwise known as retainers) with a side of financial planning. Customers are lining up out the door for this.
“Cash Is Trash” is a common theme as of late as inflation rages from the massive monetary interventions of 2020 and 2021.
You’ve researched the nuts and bolts of cryptocurrencies and considered whether you should invest in them.
Actively managed global allocation funds claim that skilled investment managers can produce a superior rate of return compared to traditional index funds. But the reality does not match the hype.
Recession is where we are headed. So let’s review what it will be like.
Quick – where were you 25 years ago?
On March 1, two unrelated Securities & Exchange Commission actions set out the state of its thinking on enforcing the “best interest” and “fiduciary” standards.
Restructured debt has often outperformed the broader municipal bond market as issuers emerge from bankruptcy with higher debt-servicing capacity.
Over the last 10+ years, U.S. equity outperformance has been caused by increased profit margins, the accretive impact of share buybacks, dollar weakness, and most significantly, an outsized expansion in equity multiples. There are risks to all of these sources of outperformance, suggesting that a neutral long-term strategic allocation to U.S. equities is now likely warranted.
The live-streaming of Ukrainians' suffering as Russia wages an unprovoked war on the country has outraged much of the world. Governments are leveling devastating financial sanctions on President Vladimir Putin for his aggression, and many Americans are looking for ways to do their part.
The same morning Russia invaded Ukraine, the people running the Church of England’s $5 billion pension fund decided they’d seen enough, and quickly went to work to clear their portfolio of Russian investments.
This article, which is written for clients, explains that direct indexing portfolios are broadly diversified with individual stocks that are personalized to meet the needs, values, and preferences of an investor.
The academic evidence against active management is mounting. New research shows that information is incorporated into security pricing far too quickly for investors to profit from it.
Preferred securities are a type of investment that generally offers higher yields than traditional fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury securities or investment-grade corporate bonds.
I propose a strategy that can produce larger price gains or losses than bonds and higher yields than traditional bond funds or ETFs. If yields decline soon, investors can expect double-digit returns in a relatively short period.
Since the initial publication of research documenting active share, its advocates have clung to the belief that the metric could identify funds that would outperform. But the academic evidence has all but disproven that thesis.
With many mutual funds converting into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the combination of ETF trading and net asset value is garnering more attention.
A crash to Earth for growth stocks and cryptocurrencies is one thing, but a sharp decline in mainstream bond mutual funds could spell enormous trouble. Signs are emerging of the beginnings of a potential downward spiral in these funds, which could ultimately lead to redemption halts and subsequent panic by retail investors.
The term “value” is being grossly misapplied.
In the past year, a large number of climate-focused funds have launched. Some invest in companies seeking to lower their carbon risks, while others steer assets to companies developing innovative solutions to climate change. And, sometimes it’s a combination of both.
