“Sixty/40 is anchored in a really important existential point—the benefit of diversification.  So, to say that 60/40 is dead is basically to say that diversification is dead—at least as far as it goes between stocks and bonds.” – Nicholas Colas The 60/40 stock/bond portfolio is often used as a simple benchmark for a balanced asset allocation….

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” -Albert Einstein I feel that one of the greatest signs of intelligence is the ability to explain complex topics in a plain and simple manner that people can understand. This is what makes Warren Buffett such a genius. That’s not to say that…

“Scale coupled with automation can basically bring costs down to zero.” – Herbert Moore Two articles grabbed my attention this week that highlight the fact that things continue to improve for individual investors, specifically on the cost front. The first one came from Larry Swedroe on Seeking Alpha.  Swedroe reviewed a recent academic study on…

“It is high time for costs to be recognized as a crucial factor in determining the future returns that funds earn.” – John Bogle These are the Vanguard fund performance results against their peer group by category through December 31, 2013 over various time frames: You can see that Vanguard funds outperform the majority of…

“Don’t do something; just stand there.” – Jack Bogle

“Understand that just as it is complicated to make things simple, it is simple to make things complicated as well.” – Anonymous

“Anyone who says that size does not hurt investment performance is selling. The highest rates of return I’ve ever achieved were in the 1950s. I killed the Dow. You ought to see the numbers. But I was investing peanuts then. It’s a huge structural advantage not to have a lot of money.” – Warren Buffett Yes, size…

“Volatility can be a good thing for investors; be prepared to benefit from it. […] Political uncertainty – like any other form of uncertainty – can be your green light to move into a market.” – Mark Mobius Emerging Markets have been getting all of the financial headlines lately. Currency issues and political instability have…

“Individual investors predictably flock to stocks in companies that are in the news.” – Daniel Kahneman

“Understanding the irrationalities inherent to human nature is every bit as important as understanding how to read a balance sheet and an income statement.” – Robert Hagstom People make funny decisions with money sometimes. Here are three examples that I find fascinating and confusing yet not all that surprising. 1. Used Car Sales A group…