"Why take risk to achieve an average return "So asks Houston reader R D He wants what all of us want superior performance "A recent column discussed index fund returns versus average returns from actively managed funds My question is based on the use of average returns "I have a difficult time…
ReadThe longer the time period the better index investing looks I learned this while doing a new examination of mutual fund performance In it I learned that the Vanguard 500 Index fund ranked 46th of the 306 domestic equity funds with 20 year track records That means it did better than 85 …
ReadThe biggest selling variable annuity sub accounts still don't cut the mustard when measured against a simple low cost index fund alternative Yes I finally got around to doing it again The last time I reported on the performance of variable annuity sub accounts was in early 1999 Now after…
ReadIndexing for most investors is a difficult leap of faith All of us like to think that someone out there can pick stocks or bonds better than everyone else and that if we happen to invest with that person we'll get rich faster This wishful thinking is aided and abetted by unrelenting media…
ReadThe results have been so sorrowful it's almost an oxymoron value investing David Dreman arguably the best known and most fastidious researcher for value investing led his January column in Forbes magazine with this confession "Last year was another poor one for the kind of value investing…
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My wife and I are homeless. For the past 18 months we’ve wandered from Singapore to Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, back to Singapore. We’ll likely leave for Costa Rica in a couple of months. In late spring, we’ll pack our tandem onto an airplane and ride our bike around Europe. My…
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“This give you strong sex,” said the grinning vendor with just two front teeth. He held up a large jar. A coiled snake was in it. I picked up the jar and wondered. Singapore isn’t just a modern city-state. It’s a futuristic image of what the world might become. So it’s strange that in some…
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Q. I can't complain. I have investments, retirement funds, a pension, etc. I'm comfortable with how they are all being managed. My wife, however, would be more comfortable with a person to consult with if I die before she does. For that reason I'm thinking about gradually moving more of our…
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Q. My husband and I have about $1.5 million in assets with a financial planner – we’ve been with him for about 15 years. His fee is one percent a year. We have a few bonds, but all of our stock holdings are with him at a major brokerage firm. He doesn’t do very many trades, so we are paying what…
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By day, Alyssha Swanson teaches second grade. By night, she designs and sells lessons plans through a site called Teachers Pay Teachers. Thanks to her successful side business, Alyssha has saved $130,000. But it’s earning a paltry rate of interest in her savings account. “My husband and I were…
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