Not All Low Costs Are Equal
Jack Bogle of Vanguard on Low Costs
I came across this article on low costs. It discusses how low costs are continuing to change the landscape of the financial industry. This article discusses some beliefs from one of the largest figures in the low cost movement. A little over 40 years ago Jack Bogle founded Vanguard (one of the funds our firm uses) and has been disrupting the financial industry ever since.
In this article Jack states he believes even though other companies ...Read More
MWA 2nd Quarter Market Commentary
Dealing with Market Volatility: Riding the Escalator While Playing with a Yo-yo
I hope your summer is off to a great start. Summer has rolled into Texas and temps have begun to rise, but thankfully football season will be here before we know it. This year has been flying by. The US market finally cooled off of its 9-year growth ...Read More
If You Are Not Prepared For Retirement- You Are Not Alone
According to the Prudential 2018 Survey of Retirement Preparedness, when pre-retirees were asked their level of retirement preparedness, they give themselves an average grade of “C”. Approximately 40% added that they are “not at all sure” how much income they will need each month in retirement and astonishingly, 25% of pre-retirees are not sure how much they are currently saving for retirement.
According to the ...Read More
How Markets Across The World Performed During The 2nd Quarter of 2018
Below is our recap of how the markets across the world performed during the 2nd quarter of 2018. The headlines made it seem like it was a volatile quarter. However, from trade wars to the fed raising rates, for the most parts the markets shifted very little. Take a look.
Click here to see our market commentary for the 2nd Quarter. If you want to download the PDF, ...Read More
Are You Worrying About the Wrong Things?
I came across a great article today that can teach us principles for our financial lives and our lives in general. The article is from an interview with Carl Richards author of The Behavior Gap, (if you haven’t read it, I highly suggest it). The article discusses how focusing on the wrong things can be detrimental to success. This is true regarding our finances and our lives.
Carl argues that the only things we should focus on are the things that are important and in our control. ...Read More
Will Your Mutual Fund Go Extinct in 15 Years
This article by Jake DeKinder, a friend of mine that works at Dimensional Funds, is an easy to understand article that dives into 3 concepts that are deeply embedded into the portfolios we manage. These beliefs are important to understand if you ever want to look under the hood to better understand what the research says about investing along with how we and our partners implement the ideas that come from academia. Below are 3 ideas that are prevalent in the models we manage and the ...Read More
Sometimes You Need To Run Towards The Fire
Q: Should I Sell My Emerging Markets Positions?
A: If we were going to sell or reduce this position, we would want to do so before the news came out and markets started moving based on the news of strengthen US currency. We don’t want to sell low and buy high. Look at the returns below between the DFA Emerging Market funds and the S&P 500. Keep in mind that markets move on the anticipation of good/bad news yet given how bad the news has been the returns have not been that ...Read More
2018 Q1 Market Review
Click on the image below and view our 2018 Q1 Market Review, which dives into world capital market performance and reviews the returns of stock and bond asset classes within the U.S. and abroad. Lastly, you will find a short commentary titled, "Sailing with the Tides", this commentary serves as a reminder to be flexible, prepared and disciplined in your investment journey.
5 Tips for Financial Fitness
With spring and summer fast approaching, bikini-body goals move into of the forefront of our minds, and financial fitness sometimes takes a backseat. Just as people can commit to a health and fitness plan for their physical bodies, your wallet sometimes needs a trim around the waistline. It’s easy to know what is healthy or unhealthy for our bodies—eat your veggies and minimize sugar, exercise a little every day, but don’t overdo it—but it’s not so easy to know what’s healthy for ...Read More
Picking a Trustee
Whether you are selecting a Trustee for a trust that is currently established or for a trust that will spring to life upon a certain event such as your death, you have many choices when it comes to selecting a Trustee. You can choose an individual such as a friend or family member to be the trustee or you can choose a corporate trustee. Every situation is different and there are no easy template answers. Below is a PDF of a blog written by a corporate trustee that does a good job listing the ...Read More