Guest post by Contributing Editor, Robert P. Seawright, Chief Investment and Information Officer for Madison Avenue Securities. A new paper by Robert Haugen, president of research house Haugen Custom Financial Systems, and Nardin Baker, chief strategist, Global Alpha, Guggenheim Partners Asset Management, claims that low risk (really low volatility) stocks consistently delivered market-beating returns in all of the [...]
Archive for the ‘Portfolio Investing 101’ Category
Does “Low Risk” Outperform?
Posted in Market Outlook, Market Timing, Portfolio Investing 101, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, Volatility, Wealth on May 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Retirement: Demographics and Destiny
Posted in 401(k), financial planning, Leverage, Long-term investing, Market Outlook, Portfolio Investing 101, Retirement, retirement income, retirement planning, Risk, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, Volatility, tagged Arnott, baby boomers, Chavez, retirement, retirement income, Wall Street Journal on March 13, 2012 | 4 Comments »
In a recent interview in The Wall Street Journal titled “Bad New for Boomers,” Rob Arnott presents a fairly grim view of the retirement income that investors can expect to generate from their investment portfolios. His thesis is that aside from all of the economic turmoil that may constrain future earnings growth, there is an [...]
Financial Services for the Masses
Posted in Investors, Low Cost Investing, Market Outlook, Portfolio Investing 101, Regular Investing, Uncategorized, Wealth, tagged broker fees, brokers, financial services, institutional investors, JP Morgan, low interest rates, macys, small investors, walmart, wealth management on March 9, 2012 | 2 Comments »
JP Morgan has gotten considerable attention in the press for a recent statement that serving clients with less than $100,000 in assets is unprofitable. Not surprisingly, one response to this statement has been to frame it in terms of the message that financial institutions just want rich clients and don’t want to spend their time [...]
3 Stock Picking Strategies for 2012
Posted in Investors, Long-term investing, Low Cost Investing, Market Outlook, Portfolio Investing 101, Risk, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, tagged asset allocation, Income Investing, stock investing, stocks, volatility on January 9, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Guest Blog by Kip Robbins, CFA, Zacks.com. Having worked in the equity markets for awhile now with a primary focus on finding profitable stock-picking strategies, I sometimes feel like the keeper of great stock picking ideas. That being said, as the New Year is upon us, I’m in a giving mood and would like to [...]
Lemons or Lemonade?
Posted in Behavioral Finance, Diversification, financial planning, Income Investing, Investors, Market Outlook, Personalization, Portfolio Investing 101, Uncategorized, Wealth, tagged Accrual Anomaly, cash flow, Dr. Richard Sloan, earnings, Len Zacks, The Handbook of Equity Market Anomalies, zacks, zacks.com on November 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Guest Blog by Kip Robbins, CFA, Zacks.com. This past Sunday it was 71 degrees and dry in Chicago. If you’ve ever lived here in November, you know that’s an anomaly. At this time of year, it’s usually 44 and wet. I felt so warm, I decided to have a glass of lemonade which is usually [...]
The Five Biggest Financial Issues for People with Children At Home
Posted in 401(k), debt, Diversification, financial planning, Investors, Long-term investing, Market Outlook, Portfolio Investing 101, Real Estate, Regular Investing, Retirement, retirement planning, Uncategorized, Wealth, tagged college savings, Elizabeth Warren, emergency savings, financial literacy, retirement, The Two Income Trap on November 21, 2011 | 2 Comments »
This is the second article in a series. The first is titled The Five Biggest Financial Issues for Pre-Retirees. The years in which you are raising children are among the most important in your life, and financial choices and decisions are no small part. First, you are managing the widest range of financial demands. You [...]
“A Little Late” by Carl Richards
Posted in Active Investing, Asset Allocation, Diversification, Financial Advisors, financial planning, Investors, Long-term investing, Low Cost Investing, Market Outlook, Market Timing, Markets, Portfolio Investing 101, Rebalancing, Regular Investing, Retirement, Risk, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, Volatility, Wealth, tagged Behavioral Finance, behaviorgap.com, Carl Richards, diversification, economy, market volatility, recession, stock market predictions, stock market rebound, Wall Street Journal on September 27, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Carl Richards’ is a favorite contributor here at the Portfolioist. We’ve interviewed him in the past (see, “How to Pick an Investment Advisor (Part 3): Carl Richards’ 3 Key Questions” by Nanette Byrnes) and remain a fan of his website, behaviorgap.com. Using a Sharpie and a piece of card stock, Richards captures complex financial ideas [...]
Long Live Diversification!
Posted in Active Investing, Asset Allocation, Bonds, Diversification, ETFs, financial planning, Income Investing, Investors, Long-term investing, Low Cost Investing, Market Outlook, Market Timing, Markets, Passive Investing, Personalization, Portfolio Investing 101, Rebalancing, Regular Investing, Retirement, Risk, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, Volatility, Wealth, tagged A Random Walk Down Wall Street, diversification, economic downturn, economy, recession, retirement, S&P 500, S&P 500 Index, Target Date Folios, Target Date Funds on September 22, 2011 | 3 Comments »
I get tired of all of the articles saying that the old standards of buy and hold and diversification are dead. Every time the market takes a dive or things get volatile, I hear the same refrain: “Buy and hold is dead.” “Diversification is an easy way to lose.” “Diversification is for idiots.” What I [...]
It’s Time to Revisit Our Financial Resolutions
Posted in Active Investing, Asset Allocation, Behavioral Finance, Bonds, Commodities, debt, Diversification, Dividends, Income Investing, Investors, Leverage, Long-term investing, Low Cost Investing, Market Outlook, Personalization, Portfolio Investing 101, Rebalancing, Retirement, Risk, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, tagged Inflation, inflation beating bonds, low-beta stocks, recession, stock market volatility, TIPS, volatility on September 6, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Did you make a financial resolution when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve? Don’t we all? Believe it or not, January 1, 2011 was more than eight months ago—and needless to say, a lot has happened since we all rang in the New Year. That’s why right now might be the perfect time to [...]
The Changing American Workforce: Can They Still Retire?
Posted in Active Investing, financial planning, Investors, Long-term investing, Personalization, Portfolio Investing 101, Rebalancing, Regular Investing, Retirement, Stock Investing, Uncategorized, tagged economy, employers, hiring, job market, recession, retirement, retirement costs, Target Date Folios, Target Date Funds, Wall Street Journal on August 30, 2011 | 5 Comments »
The Wall Street Journal recently published the article, “What’s Wrong with America’s Job Engine?” which talks about the changing relationships between employers and workers in the wake of the recession. The article suggests that companies have not ramped up their hiring in the ways that many expected. The first thing that really jumped out at [...]

