The fund being offered to Vanguard employees in their 401(k) plans is not a global fund. It focuses on U.S. stocks. But the point remains the same. As Malkiel has long argued, diversification is the only free lunch in finance. Diversification is an incredibly simple idea, yet so many investors miss out. Here it is… Continue reading →

Workplace retirement plans get a lot of bad press, primarily small company plans loaded with high fees. But, truth be told, 401(k)s have been a boon to millions of Americans with access to them. In total, 55 million savers held $5.3 trillion in these plans at the end of 2017, according to industry data. Put… Continue reading →

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the chief regulator in charge of Wall Street, has a startling message for investors: “You’re on your own.” The SEC has just opened to public comments a potential change to how your stockbroker must operate. The only reason any action is being considered at all is because another government agency,… Continue reading →

A lot has been written about the “sandwich generation,” working adults under pressure to raise kids and care for aging parents — and probably forgoing their own financial needs to pull it off. To which women of just about any generation might say: Welcome to my world! Kara Stiles at Forbes wrote an excellent piece… Continue reading →

Ever looked at the price labels on grocery store shelves? I mean really looked? Sure you have. Any good shopper knows that the big number is the price of the thing you want to buy, while the tiny number is the price per ounce, per pound, or some other unit. That way you can easily… Continue reading →

Americans love “set and forget it” products. Like rotisserie roasters and slow cookers that prepare delicious dinners while we’re miles from the kitchen, any approach that takes out complexity is beloved in our harried, overworked society. That’s why index funds are growing so rapidly. Why pay an advisor good money to pick stocks when the… Continue reading →

You probably think of your own home as your largest expense in life. Perhaps your kids, if you think of them as expenses. A recent study, in fact, estimated that buying a house and raising a child cost about the same — $245,300 for the house and $278,300 to raise a child from birth to… Continue reading →

Quick question: What title does your financial advisor use? What’s actually on his or her business card? If the words are “financial advisor,” the feds could come calling with pointed questions. The problem is one of legal responsibility. In the final weeks of the Obama administration the government was set to raise the bar on… Continue reading →

The headlines are outrageous and heartbreaking. Seventeen dead in a Florida high school, victims of an angry young man with a powerful weapon in his hands. This follows, of course, the mass attacks in Las Vegas, in Orlando and in Newtown, Conn. Never mind the estimated 96 guns deaths daily around the country, most of… Continue reading →