Ben Carlson

Asset Allocation For Investors With an Appetite For Risk

A reader asks: I recently started my first real job, and I am currently setting up my 401k. I am selecting my asset allocation. Using the website portfolio visualizer, I have been back testing different allocations. I came across an interesting portfolio that beats most of the allocations on the website (Sharpe ratio and CAGR)….

Things You See During Every Market Correction

From the peak close in late-September through the week before Halloween, the S&P 500 fell around 10% for a quick little correction. Over the ensuing 10 trading days stocks have now bounced 6%. Does this mean the correction is now over? Was it simply another flash correction? I don’t know and neither does anyone else…

Animal Spirits Episode 54: Spirit Animal

On this week’s Animal Spirits with Michael & Ben we discuss: How long until the next bear market hits? Can you quantify recession predictions? What impact do the mid-term elections have on stocks? How often do bonds outperform stocks over 30 year periods? How many Americans consider themselves “financially healthy”? Should you combine your finances…

Under Pressure

It’s estimated 44% of eligible voters didn’t fill out a ballot for the 2016 elections. That amount of people vastly outnumbered those who voted for Trump, Clinton or any of the third party candidates. Here’s the data courtesy of The Big Picture: Trump and Clinton were both in the 60 million range while the number of…

Tiny Improvements, Big Results

“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” – James Clear I hear from young people on a regular basis who complain that it’s impossible for them to save money. The list holding them back is a long one — student loans, low wages, rent, the high cost of avocado toast, and the desire to actually enjoy…

How Much Should You Charge?

I was having dinner with a group of friends when someone asked what I thought the key to a happy marriage was. My tongue-firmly-in-cheek response was “a king-sized bed.” My wife and I bought a memory foam bed a number of years ago and there’s no way we could ever go back to a regular…

Where Risk Lies in a Balanced Portfolio

The Vanguard Balanced Fund (VBAIX) was down 4.73% in October. This was the worst monthly return for this 60/40 stock/bond fund since September 2011 when it fell 5.0%. The data for this fund goes back to 2001 so I looked at the worst monthly losses to get a sense of where this past month ranks….

Animal Spirits Episode 53: Panic a Little

On this week’s Animal Spirits with Michael & Ben we discuss: What’s the one thing we’re certain of about the stock market going forward? Why volatility begets more volatility in the markets. How expectations factors into the stock market and the economy. Why the stock market is nothing like a casino. Labor shortages, wages, and…

The Relative Anchor in Rates

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is inching ever closer to 5%, up from 3.35% in May of 2013. This is causing people to worry about how this will impact the housing market. The 10-year treasury yield is above 3% been after bottoming out under 1.4% in the summer of 2016. This is causing people to…

The Psychology of Sitting in Cash, Part Deux

In early-2015 I wrote a piece called The Psychology of Sitting in Cash where I tried to answer the following reader question: I took one piece of advice from a close friend that the market was too high and that I should go to cash and wait for a correction. I am still waiting. How do…