It’s possible to successfully pick stocks, says Nobel Prize winner and Yale economist Robert Shiller in a new interview, but like any game it’s competitive and hard — and best left alone by most. Shiller himself favors value investing, buying the stocks of “boring” companies whose valuations seem temporarily depressed. Nevertheless, he admits that he… Continue reading →

As millions of Americans edge their way into retirement, expect a tidal wave of lawsuits over 401(k) plans much like the one just filed in federal court in Greensboro, N.C. Novant Health, a nonprofit hospital system, is accused of letting its plan provider overcharge employees by millions of dollars, according to reports. The plaintiffs allege… Continue reading →

If you’re serious about college basketball, you’ve already downloaded a blank bracket and filled in your 68 teams, the outcomes through to the Final Four and the championship NCAA game on April 7. And you nearly certainly will be wrong. Way, way wrong. But you already knew that and filled it in anyway because your… Continue reading →

If you follow the career of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, you likely have kept up on the succession chatter of late. After all, Buffet is 83 now. Sooner or later, someone will take the reins at his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, and that person will pick up the mantle of his amazing performance over the years.… Continue reading →

Anyone who goes to business school learns a basic rule of decision-making: Understand your opportunity cost. It’s a hard lesson. Opportunity cost means fully calculating the return on two or more options, then choosing the best path forward. Here’s a quick case study: A manager believes that locating a plant in South Carolina is likely… Continue reading →

If you follow the financial media day-to-day, you get caught up in a narrative that is as appealing as it is wrongheaded. It goes something like this: You must know what’s going on, because you must take action immediately. It’s wrongheaded because almost nobody should be trying so hard to outmaneuver the market. Even the… Continue reading →

We’ve heard a lot recently about how Americans aren’t going to have much of a retirement. We’ll work longer and have less, and things don’t look much better for our underemployed kids. Such headlines induce a feeling of paralysis, I know. Why bother, you might conclude, if there’s no hope? Yet there are plenty of… Continue reading →

If you’ve been paying attention to the financial news these days, it’s been hard to avoid dire headlines from abroad. Argentina is sliding toward a currency collapse. Turkey is in political turmoil. Venezuela is slipping fast. As a retirement investor, such news might give you pause. After all, it’s likely that you own at least… Continue reading →

The headlines pulled no punches after a poor January and a tough start to February for stocks: “Brutal” said one, “horrific” said another. The natural human compulsion in such times is to take action. Yet before investors really absorb such headlines, the time for action will have passed. And that’s the problem. The solution, to… Continue reading →