October 11, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Friction can slow can down any machine. What was humming along only minutes or weeks ago, can labor under the strain of too little oil, a little sand in the gears, you name it. The US economy and markets have been seeing an increase in perceived frictions over the past month. Can we get back to smoother operations?

Investment Policy Statement – Why Is It Important?

It is important for all investors, whether an individual, family, retirement plan, or nonprofit, to plan their investment approach around their goals and objectives. Investment Policy Statements (IPS) often document these items. Here are four reasons why it is important to have a clearly articulated IPS.

An Investment Portfolio Is Like a Good Smoothie

Recently, I rediscovered the benefits of homemade smoothies for breakfast. They are nutritious, natural, easy to make, efficient, and delicious! This morning, I was thinking about how a good investment portfolio is like a good smoothie! 

September 27th, 2021 Financial Perspectives

In Part two of our interview with Marlena Lee from Dimensional, Kent Kramer and Marlena dig deeper into changes to asset allocation and ESG investing risks and considerations.

DraftKings Knows More About You Than You Know About You

For 12 seconds, consider what a company knows about you and their own profitability if they are willing to offer you a $500 risk-free bet to get started. That’s what DraftKings just promised me in a commercial. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? OK, the 12 seconds are up. What did you come up with?

Equilibrium Markets in the Time of COVID

Over the years, Foster Group has utilized a number of mutual funds and exchange traded funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). DFA was founded in 1981 on the idea of making academic investment research and empirically based portfolio management accessible to investors. In this article, Professor Kenneth French describes how markets responded to the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020: A Predictor’s Kryptonite

At the end of 2019, Foster Group’s Investment Strategy Group wanted to create an object lesson to illustrate how hard it is to predict what will happen in financial markets and the world in general.

August 21, 2020 Financial Perspectives

0:50 - In the News: August 10th - August 21st
2:46 - What Is “Aseasonality” and Why Can It Lead to Impatience?
4:30 - Historical Disruptions
5:50 - Behavioral Biases: Why Does This Seem So Bad?

August 11, 2020 Financial Perspectives

1:09 - News: July 27th - August 7th
4:06 - Market News: July 27th - August 7th
4:42 - Are Things Getting Better or Worse?
5:28 - What's Going on with Gold?
10:05 - How Does Foster Group View Gold?

July 28, 2020 Financial Perspectives

1:14 - News: July 13th - July 24th
4:06 - Market News: July 13th - July 24th
5:40 - Are We There Yet?
7:56 - Which Party Is Better?
11:10 - Seeing Only the Negative

July 13, 2020 Financial Perspectives

1:25 - News: June 27th to July 10th
3:49 - Recent Market News & 2020 First Half Markets
6:40 - Headline Risks
12:04 - Know the Sources of Headline Risk
13:53 - Resist Investment Action Based on Headline Risk
15:04 - Develop a Checklist for Headline Risk

June 22, 2020 Financial Perspectives

0:45 - News: June 15th – June 19th, 2020
2:49 - Markets: June 15th – June 19th, 2020
3:47 - What Is a REIT?
4:28 - How Have REITs Been Impacted So Far in 2020?
5:14 - REIT Sectors & YTD Returns
6:55 - A Closer Look at Office REITs

June 8, 2020 Financial Perspectives

1:45 - Last Week's News
3:06 - Last Week's Financial Highlights
4:40 - How Will the US Pay for All This New Debt Spending?
7:54 - What Does GDP Mean for the Stock Market?

What I Think About When Working From Home

In the blink of an eye, it seems, our lives have taken a major turn, because of a sneaky, harmful, invisible germ. The concept of uncertainty is real and palpable.