The returns most investors actually get are very different from the total return advertised by a fund. Put another way, the one thing driving most investment decisions – past total returns – are not what investors actually earn. In reality, investors earn less, and in some cases, a lot less than the total return advertised by a fund.

Morningstar updated its report on the investor returns gap late last week (download the full report at the source link below). The report found that investor returns for the 10 year periods ended 2012 to 2015 fell short – on average – by 1.13%. Continue Reading…

I read a few newsletters to keep me updated on what other people think. One of those is Richard Bernstein’s since he offers monthly research from a top-down, macro view of the economy – something I don’t spend much time on – because it’s nice to get an intelligent viewpoint from that perspective.

His latest newsletter points to one flaw in the current thinking behind what drives bull markets: Continue Reading…

I took advantage of the shorter week, thanks to Memorial Day, to get caught up on some behind the scenes (less fun) stuff I’ve been putting off. So no regular post this week, but I do have weekend reads and some interviews worth watching.

The Recode Code Conference was this week. Not all the video replays are posted yet, but the few that are where interesting and posted below. Continue Reading…

People have tried to explain the causes behind the extreme unbalance in prosperity in different parts of the world over the last two centuries. In an article titled How the West (and the Rest) Got Rich the author pinpoints the missing ingredient that brought about the last few centuries of progress and prosperity to Western Europe and the U.S. Continue Reading…