Professor Charles D. Ellis of the Rebalance Investment Committee on the difficulty of trying to beat the stock market. More investing advice for a solid retirement. TRANSCRIPT If you go back 60 years ago, maybe even 50 years ago, active, aggressive, imaginative, go-for-it investing had a terrific opportunity because the competition wasn’t very tough. Over… Continue reading →

If given a choice, would you prefer to retire with 79% more money than the typical investor? Easy question, right? Many retirement savers are given exactly this choice, yet only a third end up enjoying the extra cash. What’s the difference? Prudent, high-quality advice that helped them avo​id the roller coaster of emot​ionally driven decisions. Aon Hewitt, the… Continue reading →

Jay Vivian, former managing director of the IBM Retirement Funds, explains target date funds. Continue reading →

Did you know that if you start early and save diligently, you could easily finance the retirement of a total stranger? That’s right. A total stranger. If you pay the big fees charged by mutual funds and high-priced active money managers, those costs can total up to more than $400,000 over your working life, according… Continue reading →

Professor Burton Malkiel of the Rebalance Investment Committee explains how volatility in the markets can cause investors to make emotional decisions and why access to a financial advisor is crucial in tough markets. Continue reading →

Ordinary retirement investors earn a return that pales in comparison to the stock market itself — more than 45% off the benchmark. Why is that, and can you do anything about it? We’re talking about trillions of hard-earned dollars, money that should be growing on behalf of millions of Americans and just isn’t. The results… Continue reading →

The media storm over Michael Lewis and his new book about high-frequency trading is fascinating to watch — and of remarkably little consequence. Serious retirement savers are not affected by flash trading and, quite possibly, benefit from its existence. Lewis is a great writer. I suppose his publisher welcomes the attention the book has gotten… Continue reading →

Professor Charles D. Ellis of the Rebalance Investment Committee on the most useful service a financial advisor can provide — a sounding board and trusted feedback so that your investments fit your goals. Continue reading →

Anyone who goes to business school learns a basic rule of decision-making: Understand your opportunity cost. It’s a hard lesson. Opportunity cost means fully calculating the return on two or more options, then choosing the best path forward. Here’s a quick case study: A manager believes that locating a plant in South Carolina is likely… Continue reading →