If you are suffering from too much news (“infobesity”) and too many dire predictions (“calamity fatigue”) then the annual Windham Global Solutions client conference last week would have been a welcome break.  It was for us.  Windham, our asset allocation and risk management advisor, had a full menu of meaty topics over two days.  Here are some highlights. Windham is a…

Small cap can be big We know that a typical long-term stock portfolio returns more, on average, than a typical bond portfolio. But what kind of stocks consistently outperform the broad stock market as a whole? Hint: Think smaller. 87 years Since 1926, a dollar invested in small cap stocks has grown to $18,365 – a hefty annualized return of…

Cost of Cash Calculator Keeping a stash of cash seems to be a natural human urge. Call it a “rainy day fund” or “emergency fund.” Whatever you call it, having some cash on hand for unforeseen situations is a good idea. But is holding excess cash a good idea?  Some, yes; too much, no.  Understand the cost of stuffing money…

The next 5 million dollar man How much do you need to save and invest to accumulate $5 million dollars?  Max Osbon fired up the Excel spreadsheet to create a simple and revealing look at how to do just that. Four facts to enter Armed with four simple facts – your current age, your current investable wealth, your expected rate…

I definitely agree with the old adage that kids say the darnedest things.  But now and then the financial media give kids a good run for their money. For instance, we’ve all seen headlines like this one: “Dow Plummets 150 Points.”  But is 150 points really a plummet? Let’s look at the stats. With the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering…

When we describe our index boutique approach to investing, people often ask: “If indexing is so great why don’t more professionals do it?” The answer is:  “They do”.  A quick look at high profile, successful professional active managers shows a significant portion of assets going the index route.  See who’s doing it. Elites do it Many endowment funds – the…

In two words, cash flow.  And not just in Europe.  Record high dividend payments are a worldwide phenomenon and are occurring despite doom and gloom reports about Europe in the popular media.  Healthy dividend yields on non-US ETFs raise a good question: should you own them? Cash flow is knowable A quick scan of popular ETFs shows how rich some…

When Detroit defaulted on $19 billion in general obligation bonds, it barely caused a ripple in the $3.7 trillion muni market. But for the unlucky few who held those bonds, it’s a dime-on-the-dollar catastrophe. What’s the lesson we can learn from the Detroit experience? Bond defaults are very rare these days. The wave of big muni defaults that Meredith Whitney…

For too long investors have not gotten the full story about their investment returns. What’s missing is one simple, understandable performance number: after-tax return.  It’s time for investors to expect and get this crucial figure: “Here’s your rate of return after taxes.” I expect much of the financial industry cringes at this idea. Let’s say your portfolio starts the year at…