When looking for a place to stash your emergency reserves, a visit to bankrate.com is probably your best bet. The popular site provides an up to date list of the banks that are currently paying the highest rates on fully liquid, FDIC insured savings accounts, making it easier than ever for savers to find the…
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A central tenet of our investment philosophy is diversification. Furthermore, we advocate for “real diversification”, which means owning thousands of stocks in companies of all sizes (large and small), geography (U.S. and non-US) and investment style (value and growth). This type of diversification represents the only “free-lunch” there is in investing. But real diversification also…
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In 1906, statistician Francis Galton attended a livestock fair where villagers were invited to guess the weight of an ox. No villager successfully guessed the correct weight, but Galton noticed that the average of all the guesses was 1,197 pounds — the exact weight of the ox. A famous experiment asked 56 students to guess…
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In Part 1 of this series, a brief list of the advantages and disadvantages of investing in publicly traded equities vs. direct real estate was provided. In this article, I will try to more directly answer the question, “which is better, stocks or real estate”? First of all, that is probably the wrong question to…
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Some investors choose to invest their savings in stocks while other others favor investing in directly real estate. Below is a brief list of the advantages and disadvantages of each. Advantages of Directly Owned Real Estate Leverage: The primary advantage of real estate is the ability to use leverage. Leverage is an investment strategy where…
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We all know that risk and return go hand-in-hand. As investors, we are encouraged to think about how much risk we can/want to assume and then build a portfolio that reflects our risk tolerance and objectives. But, investment risk is not a straightforward concept. There are two, broadly different kinds of investment risks: avoidable, concentrated…
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Stock prices change as new information becomes available. It’s not surprising that many investors believe that it is crucial to follow financial news carefully and then act quickly on news that might be relevant to their investments. While this may sound like a good idea, the reality is that you cannot expect to consistently improve…
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Doctors write prescriptions. Auto mechanics perform tune-ups. Lawyers prepare briefs. Financial advisors help you manage your money. Ultimately, it’s that simple. But like any other profession, we sometimes have a funny way of saying it. Following are a few of the most common terms related to money management. Assets Your assets sustain your financial being…
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As I discussed in a previous article, Dimensional and Vanguard are similar but are different in some key respects. While neither fund family relies on forecasting or individual security analysis, Vanguard funds are index funds while Dimensional funds are not. Both fund families are great options for investors. However, Dimensional provides several advantages that may…
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Through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF), a donor can make a charitable contribution, get an upfront tax deduction, and then recommend what charities to support and when. Funds can be distributed immediately or over time. In addition to the upfront tax deduction, DAFs also offer an added tax advantage when a donor makes a gift…
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