How the “Little Guy” Really Wins in the Market
Don’t believe the lie that you don’t belong or that the keys belong to someone who won’t give them to you.
April 26, 2021 Financial Perspectives
Markets have been reaching some all-time highs recently. US stock markets, foreign stock markets, even newer assets like bitcoin, SPACs, and NFTs have been soaring much of the past six months. At these relatively high values more than a few skeptics are predicting a fall. Some say correction – a temporary minor adjustment; some say crash – major problem ahead. Is there a reason to be acrophobic – fearful about markets at record heights?
Taking the Long View in a Short-Term World
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
One of the primary roles we play as financial advisors is to help our clients remember to take the long-view.
April 12, 2021 Financial Perspectives
One of my favorite comedians has always been Steve Martin. One of his funnier routines was “let’s get small.” Lately small company stocks have been outperforming their large company counterparts and it’s hard not to notice. What is a small company and why the outperformance recently?
What a Difference a Year Makes
On March 23, 2020, the S&P 500 tumbled another 3%, culminating a near 34% drop over that same month. The Dow Jones hovered around 19,000. Gains from the past few years were gone.
March 22, 2021 Financial Perspectives
Many indicators say the US and global economy are growing at rates faster than expected. Most of this is welcome news given the past 12 months. But is there a danger the economy could overheat? Inflation continues to be on the minds of some, should it be on yours as well?
YOLO, Meme, and EMH: What’s Your Investment Style?
Guest Blogger, Marlena Lee, PhD. While it’s not the intended victim of the YOLO traders, will the efficient market hypothesis be a casualty of these events? The answer depends a lot on your definition of efficient markets.
It’s Worth the Trip!
We had completed our hike successfully, and the challenges made it more memorable and satisfying. The same is true for all of us as investors.
Do Small Company Stocks Like New Presidents?
In the three months since Joe Biden was elected President of the United States, small company stocks have risen more than 30%. Four years ago, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and small company stocks went up almost 20% in the twenty-six days surrounding the election, from November 3rd to December 9th. Do small company stock investors just like new Presidents?
March 27, 2020 Financial Perspectives
In this Foster Group update, Chief Investment Officer, Kent Kramer gives a financial recap from the past week and discusses portfolio rebalancing.
Good News About Portfolio Costs from DFA
Investors will benefit from a reduction in investment costs associated with funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), effective February 28, 2020.
Webinar Replay: Prediction, Expectation, Speculation, & Preparation
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Foster Group's Chief Investment Officer, Kent Kramer, explains how to position both your investments and your thinking to better avoid predictable disappointments.
Living in Fear of a Market Downturn?
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Dimensional Fund Advisors’ David Booth on why you should change the way you think about investing.
How Elections Affect the Market
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
A bit of history helps bring some perspective to trying to read too much into the influence of elections on stock markets.
Coronavirus Worries Drive Economic Uncertainty and Stock Market Declines
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Investment markets around the world have been declining sharply this week in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Recent Market Volatility: Coronavirus Worries Are Only Part of the Story
In addition to the coronavirus, other sources of investor uncertainty include global economic growth, the UK finalizing their Brexit negotiations, trade negotiations between Europe and the US, President TrumpÆs impeachment and ongoing Senate trial, and 20
$1 Trillion!
Four companies have reached a market cap of $1 Trillion. What does this mean for your portfolio?
Embrace Uncertainty!
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
We may not like uncertainty, but we need to understand and embrace it to keep ourselves positioned for both survival and success.
An Executive’s Financial Guide
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Our eBook, An Executive's Financial Guide, can help with your road map to retirement, as we show you new ways to make use of your wealth for purposes important to you.
Selecting the Best Ingredients for Your Portfolio
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
In this third piece of our series on building a better portfolio by thinking of it in terms of tastes, recipes, and ingredients, we’ll focus on the benefits of selecting better ingredients.
Is Your Portfolio Tailored to Fit Your Needs, or Just ‘Off-The-Rack’?
While the alterations may be small and subtle, they make a big difference when it comes to comfort and fit. Our experience is better. For an investment thought experiment, think of the “off the rack suit” as the broad market; we simply take what we get off the shelf with no alteration. Now think of Foster Group as the tailor and the alterations as portfolio personalizations called factor allocations.