There is no way to determine if investors underperform the mutual funds they own, either because of bad timing or for any other reason.

"(A)nd therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne, the writer, was certainly not referring to U.S. Treasury rates when he penned those words so long ago. In fact, he was discussing how all living beings are connected to one another as well as to the world. But today, this sentiment seems quite fitting as we contemplate the world of U.S. dollar–denominated fixed income.

Manager selection is critical: Only a subset delivered when it counted most.

We have four interns this summer and today I took them to lunch.  One asked what I wrote about today.  I said the title of the piece is, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and, of course, they gave me a funny look.

Fear of market volatility and a repeat of 2008/09 have led many investors toward becoming overly cautious. Investors who cling to ‘safe’ investments might soon realize that there are unforeseen risks in being extremely risk averse.

Should advisors expect legendary value investors, like Warren Buffett, to deliver alpha? A look back at Buffett’s 15-year track record, as well as the two funds he identified in 1984 as “superinvestors,” shows that passively managed alternatives offer better prospects for the future.

Last week’s top conversations were started by Larry Swedroe, Wade Pfau and Adam Butler. They generated thoughtful discussions on: the myth of private equity and venture capital outperformance; Dimensional Fund Advisors’ target­date retirement income funds; and exposing the “active risks” of passive portfolios.

Two recent announcements from Fidelity Investments, well-known for its actively managed mutual funds, show that it intends to strengthen its competitive positioning and grow its market share in the index fund business. I spoke with Colby Penzone, the senior vice president for Fidelity’s Investment Products Group, about those announcements.

In an uncertain world, safety is in high demand. US municipals benefited from Britain’s contentious vote to exit the European Union. Could anything knock them off course?

Portfolio Manager Charlie Dreifus describes his absolute value approach and discusses why earnings play such a critical role.

Don’t believe the claims of outperformance among private equity and venture capital investors. A recent study documents the daunting odds against picking a winner in these complex alternative asset classes. Fortunately, there’s a way for advisors to gain similar exposure to potentially higher returns in low-cost passive funds.

Brexit has made at least one thing certain: markets are in for a stormy summer. Even so, there are steps that investors who rely on fickle global credit markets for income can take to stay afloat.

Despite meaningful progress over the last four years, large chunks of the Indian population remain unbanked. The total number of unbanked Indians stood at 233 million in 2015, down from 557 million in 2011. That’s more than the populations of Germany, the United Kingdom and France combined.

Martin Wildy is portfolio manager of the Eventide Multi-Asset Income Fund. Martin has more than 10 years of experience as a portfolio manager and analyst, building sustainable portfolios of companies in the tech, banking, real estate, and other sectors. His fund actively invests in green bonds, “yieldcos” and MLPs. I spoke with Martin on June 24.

Last week's referendum in the U.K. sent risk-asset markets into a tailspin, as investors wonder what "Brexit"—the U.K.'s exit from the European Union—means for the U.K., the E.U. and, by extension, global markets. The political, economic and market implications are significant for both sides of the English Channel, and beyond. It's critical, however, to understand how the process is slated to play out near term and farther down the road and to recognize the many questions and uncertainties regarding its repercussions while keeping them in perspective. As always, the key to successful investing in an uncertain world is carefully considering future prospects relative to current prices.

Brexit!  The world markets are in shock.  What’s next?

According to Vanguard, advisors can potentially add 3% each year to client returns. That’s after fees, expenses and taxes. So how can you add 3% more each year than the average advisor?

Sage Advisory Services was founded in 1996 by Robert G. Smith, III and Mark C. MacQueen with a simple mission: to better meet the unique investment management needs of institutions and individuals through industry-leading analytical services, innovative investment solutions and an unwavering focus on risk management. I spoke with Bob Smith about Sage’s strategies and how they are helping advisors achieve their clients’ investment objectives.

High-yield exchange-traded funds (ETFs) struggled last year, in part because energy bonds took a beating when oil prices fell. Does that make an ETF that avoids energy bonds a good idea? We don’t think so.

In response to my previous article, The Portfolio Management Assumptions That Harm Clients, Bob Veres commented that I didn’t offer any solutions. This article is my attempt at redemption.

Municipal bonds have thus far bucked the trend of typical headwinds in June. The Barclays Municipal Bond Index has returned 1.1% month to date through June 17, 2016, a stark contrast to the -0.55% total return the Barclays Municipal Bond Index has averaged in June over the past 10 years. The index has posted positive returns only three times over that time span—a remarkably poor batting average for any interest bearing sector—illustrating the consistency of June challenges until this year.

You don't have the time or the resources to watch all of your investments 24/7. A trusted wholesaler will help you by being a second set of eyes looking out for you and your clients.

USAA Investments manages over $68 billion in assets. I spoke with Karyn Bostick, director of third-party distribution, and Regina Shafer, portfolio manager of the five-star and bronze-rated USAA Tax-Exempt Intermediate-Term Bond Fund (USATX), at this year’s Morningstar conference in Chicago.

Not only will Donald Trump win the November election, but his victory will propel U.S. economic growth higher, according to Jeffrey Gundlach. Trump will fuel a debt-driven increase in government spending, which Gundlach said will push GDP growth to levels reminiscent of the Ronald Reagan era.

Nearly halfway through 2016, most of the issues we faced at the beginning of the year remain today.  With little overall market movement, the two most popular averages, the S&P 500 and DJIA, are little changed on the year – both up a small yet positive 1.5%.

There are seasons I look forward to during the year — the warm months for fishing and the cold months for hunting — and some I’d just as soon avoid — like hurricane season and allergy season. One of the questions I often hear from investors is whether there’s an ideal “investing season” that they should plan for each year. Is there any truth to the adage to “sell in May and go away,” and is the “October effect” really something to fear?

A review of the month’s market-moving events across countries and asset classes.

Long-term forecasting is more of an art than a science. As none of us can tell the future, we should probably all put our skeptics’ hats on and view any and all forecasts as educated guesses. However, the fact that the future is unknown does not allow us as investors to abstain completely from the process of forecasting.

Preparing yourself and your clients for bearish times may be the most important investment activity you engage in, more important than your portfolio design work or your research into the actual investments that you recommend.

Our team spends a great deal of time debating the economic outlook and to say PJ Grzywacz is bright would be an understatement. Sometimes our discussions get passionate and I think it is a good thing. To wit, passion in everything is a good thing. PJ challenges all things that might lead to “groupthink” biases. Something we think about a lot.

The most searched term on the financial website Investopedia.com in 2015 was "smart beta.” Here are eight things to bring you up to date on this fast-growing but widely misunderstood investment trend.

If you’re a serious investor—and because you’re reading this, I have to assume that you are—gold is looking more and more like a crucial trade. Only two weeks remain before United Kingdom voters decide on whether the country will continue to be a member of the European Union (EU) or become the first-ever to leave it. The “Brexit,” as it’s come to be known, is arguably the most consequential political event of 2016—perhaps even more so than the U.S. presidential election in November—with far-reaching implications.

We who inhabit the northern hemisphere will soon enter summer. Many would say summer is already with us – most schools are closed, and a general laziness is beginning to set in – especially for those in the “protected” class. For many of them, summer is a verb. They “summer” in the Hamptons, or Lake Tahoe, or somewhere in the tropics.

As amusement park visits rise in the summer months, the ever-popular roller coaster analogy seems appropriate for the stock market. Since the beginning of 2015, stocks have had some fairly major ups and downs, but we now sit about where we began. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy for investors to get off the ride, and we expect the frustrating, grinding environment to continue for the near future. Equities have yet been unable to break through to new highs, while fixed income continues to offer little in terms of yield.

Markets have taken investors on a wild ride in 2016, with conflicting messages about expectations for economic growth and inflation. Through April, the S&P 500 Index had returned just more than 3%, erasing its 10% correction at the start of the year. Since a trough on Feb. 11, global and domestic equities have largely followed suit and rebounded to the levels of fourth-quarter 2015. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a low for the year so far of 1.66% on that date, but ended April around 1.83% — although not without its own choppiness. The CBOE Volatility Index spiked in January and February, fell off in March and early April and then showed rising volatility again at the end of April. In our view, this has become a speculative market.

Many of you know the way that I construct portfolios. I typically begin with a base of mutual funds, but not just any mutual fund. I tend to invest in mutual funds where I know the portfolio manager (PM) and like his or her investment style. Then, because I talk to these PMs, I hear lots of good ideas.

Vest Financial Group Inc. was cofounded in 2012 by Jeff Chang. In this interview, Chang discusses Vest’s dedication to serving investment advisor and brokerage firms in bringing wider access to innovative options-based strategies.

A pivotal difference between robo- and human advisors is the level of fiduciary care they provide to clients. Understanding how to exploit this Achilles Heel will allow planners to compete effectively with the next generation of technology-enabled advice.

Are investors overly wary in the currently ragged environment for risk assets?

If we put hope and wishful thinking aside and look at what the economic and corporate data tells us, the U.S. economy is flirting with recession and markets are due for a bear market correction of 30-50%. The U.S. and global economies are growing more slowly than forecasted just a few months ago. Data indicates that instead of getting stronger, macro trends are getting weaker.

Do you remember back in the early 80s when interest rates peaked at 15.25% and most everyone felt rates were moving higher, certainly not lower?  The fact is, it was the single best time in history to get bullish on bonds.

“Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’ (Billy Preston)” . . . is the first line from Billy Preston’s hit song “Nothing From Nothing” recorded in 1974 on the album “The Kids & Me.” It was a song one of my bands used to play in an era long gone by. I recalled the tune while reading one market maven’s letter last Tuesday where the author commented that, “Monday was perhaps the nothingest of nothing days.”

Yusko took the stage Thursday morning and told a story about a time in 1999 when he served as the chief investment officer of the University of North Carolina endowment.  He presented to his board in December 1999 and showed them the GMO 10-year forward annualized return predictions.  GMO had advised investors to expect a negative 1.9% over the coming decade (annualized per year for ten years from 2000 – 2010).

With the first four months of the year in the books, I’d like to take a moment to break down the performance of alternatives thus far.

The running-to-stand-still pattern in U.S. equities may continue, with bouts volatility expected. But U.S. economic growth appears to be improving and stocks could start to sniff out a potentially better second half for both the economy and earnings. Investors should remain patient, and use volatility as opportunities to rebalance around normal strategic allocations in both U.S. and international equities.

The first actively managed exchange-traded product (ETP) was launched in March 2008. Seven years after initial introduction, first-generation active ETPs have total net assets of $19.46 billion – less than 0.2% of the combined assets of actively managed mutual funds and active ETPs. The slow development of active ETPs primarily reflects the reluctance of fund sponsors to offer leading active strategies in a format that requires daily disclosure of fund holdings. Unlike first-generation active ETPs, NextShares are not required to disclose their daily holdings and can therefore maintain the confidentiality of fund trading information. Operating as NextShares, active ETPs can realize their full potential as alternatives to traditional mutual funds with built-in performance and tax advantages and the convenience of exchange trading.

The pullback in smaller US stocks over the past year offers a compelling opportunity for investors who want to restore their exposure to the asset class. But how they go about it matters.

Over the past 35-40 years, the industry and media have told investors to invest passively, or to buy and hold. We believe this approach is flawed and hurting rather than helping people invest successfully. The passive, buy and hold concept was developed in response to the damage inflicted on investors and the mutual fund industry in the 1970s.

CEFs may help add yield as a component of a balanced, long-term investment portfolio, industry professionals say.

After gaining 16% from the February low, SPX has been trading in a 2% range during May. A minor 20% of the rally has been retraced, a sign of resilience and consolidation. Despite the recent rally, investors are positioned for weakness, not further gains. There might still be a capitulation low ahead but the set up is for higher prices in the next month(s). End of May and start of June seasonality is possible short-term tailwind for equities.