Monthly Archives: August 2011
Dan Ariely on “Asking the right and wrong questions”
Dan Ariely, author and professor of behavioral economics, wrote an interesting blog post yesterday Asking the right and wrong questions From a behavioral economics point of view, the field of financial advice is quite strange and not very useful. For the most part, professional financial services rely on clients answers to two questions: How much of […]
A pseudorandom walk down wall street
http://abstrusegoose.com/391 Thanks to Ritholtz and TBP for the link. (A cute comic making fun of market commentators)
Swedroe on GNMAs for your Bond Allocation
Always worth reading, here’s Swedroe’s recent piece about whether or not to use GNMA (mortgage-backed securities) as your bond allocation: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/investing/blog/wise-investing/gnmas-you-can-do-better/2887/ Some things he notes: A 60/40 portfolio with intermediate treasuries has had a higher return and lower volatility than a similar portfolio with GNMAs GNMAs have a higher correlation with equities (which explains a […]
Felix Salmon responds to Swensen’s anti-mutual-fund piece
Felix Salmon, a widely published financial journalist, responds to Swensen’s article about how much of the mutual fund industry is ripping off investors. In particular, he takes issue with Swensen’s suggestion that the SEC should be somehow pushing folks to buy index funds. http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/08/19/why-the-sec-shouldnt-push-index-funds/ Salmon grudgingly seems to agree that *within an asset class* it […]
Mutual Funds a ripoff?
Maybe that’s pushing it a little bit, but the fact is that the vast majority of mutual funds, mostly actively managed, add more in costs than they do in value. A net loss to the investor compared to what he should be paying. David Swenson, chief investment officer at Yale University (he manages their huge […]
How to get your prior-year tax information from the IRS
We all file our taxes each year, and dutifully, we each keep copies in our files, right? You know, along with all the receipts, your copies of your W-2 and 1099s. So what happens if you need some of the information but can’t find it? The IRS can’t necessarily help with everything – they don’t […]
Interest Rates: Why Waiting for Rates to Rise May Cost You – CBS MoneyWatch.com
Link: Interest Rates: Why Waiting for Rates to Rise May Cost You – CBS MoneyWatch.com Will have to check the archives, but I may have posted this link before. Swedroe wrote this back in April and it’s probably still worth reading and considering. The costs of hugging the short end of the yield curve remain […]
10 Costs That Can Ruin Your Retirement Savings – SmartMoney.com
Link: 10 Costs That Can Ruin Your Retirement Savings – SmartMoney.com Great read. It isn’t always bad to pay for things. It is always bad to not know that you’re paying for things or how much you are paying, and what the long term impact of those costs is likely to be.
IRS: Ten Facts from the IRS about Amending Your Tax Return
Link: IRS: Ten Facts from the IRS about Amending Your Tax Return When to amend your return, when not to, what forms to use, etc.
Meyers Wealth Management 