U.S. stocks were up double-digits well into 2018 and sailing along nicely until a funny thing happened — they stopped going up and went the opposite direction as they are wont to do. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is now down around 20 basis points on the year. Not only have stocks struggled…
Ben Carlson
If You Want to Be Happy…
I read The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World a few months ago and what struck me most about his story was not Edison’s unbelievable accomplishments and inventions, but the stories that paint him as a really bad person. By all accounts, he could be a terrible in the way…
Ben’s Holiday Spending Tips
Some random thoughts as we head into one of the busiest spending seasons of the year… Take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses. The credit card companies are notorious for changing up their rewards systems over time but if you can take advantage of a one-time sign-up bonus it’s basically free money. The majority of these…
Animal Spirits Episode 56: How to Ask the Right Questions
This week’s Animal Spirits with Michael & Ben is presented by J.P. Morgan Asset Management: We discuss: A history of the 401k. Why pensions were never as prevalent as most people assume. Why cashing out your 401k is a bad idea. The pros & cons of multi-factor investing. Competition in factor investing. If market cap…
Surveying the Damage in Stocks
Stocks are getting massacred. Absolutely slaughtered. Pounded into submission. Markets are in turmoil. Investors are panicked, shellshocked and dare I say, jittery. These are some of the words and phrases you hear bandied about when stocks are in the midst of a freefall. Fun times. Let’s take a look at the numbers to see how…
How the American Consumer Got Addicted to Choice
In 1886 a box of watches was accidentally sent to a jewelry dealer who didn’t order them. Instead of sending them back he sold them for a profit which eventually led him to start a watch distribution company. Seven years later he found a partner who helped him use catalogs to sell watches by the…
Talking ETFs, Volatility, Bonds, Value Investing, Endowments & Retirement Withdrawal Strategies
I was in New York City this week for a short trip to visit our headquarters in Bryant Park, tape some new segments for upcoming podcasts episodes, eat enough to put me into a food coma, see some stand-up comedy, and visit with colleagues and friends. This included an appearance on Bloomberg IQ to chat…
Revisiting the 4% Rule
William Bengen first wrote about the 4% rule in a 1994 research paper for the Journal of Financial Planning called Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data. He proposed a safe withdrawal rate of 4% of a portfolio’s value in the first year of retirement, an amount which is used as a baseline for spending going forward….
Animal Spirits Episode 55: How to Create the Perfect Fund
On this week’s Animal Spirits with Michael & Ben we discuss: Is universal basic income feasible in the US? How much would it cost to give everyone aged 18-65 $1,000/month? What does the perfect hedge fund look like? What do investors expect from their liquid alts & hedge funds anyways? Why isn’t the language of money…
What If You Retire At a Stock Market Peak?
Meet Sam. Sam’s entire family has terrible luck when it comes to the timing of their retirement. Sam’s great-grandparents retired at the end of 1928. Over the ensuing three years or so the stock market would drop close to 90% while the U.S. economy would contract nearly 30% in the Great Depression. In 1937, the…
