Should I Change Financial Advisors Over Poor Performance?
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The fact that markets are down isn’t a good reason by itself to fire your advisor, but there are reasons to switch financial advisors related to performance.

A Thoughtful Reply to the Debt Ceiling Crisis
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While there can be a lot of uncertainty, the conclusion is normally anticlimactic.

How to Implement a New Investment Plan
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Next time you are wondering if you should invest now or “wait for a better time,” remember Schwab’s study and invest now in whatever way makes you invest now.

Even Down, Biotechnology Still Had a Place in Efficient Portfolios (2022 Analysis)
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Biotechnology’s low correlation, the very thing that makes you dislike it, is specifically what gives it a place in efficient portfolios.

Q&A: What is Your Strategy’s Expense Ratio? (2022 Analysis)
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You can tell a lot from the expense ratio of an advisor’s preferred funds.

Marotta Family Saying: Make Half a Mistake

Three generations explain this family saying which teaches one method of mitigating risk.

Updates to Schwab Institutional Intelligent Portfolios Limited Fund Selection
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Now that the Franklin Templeton funds have been added to the Institutional Intelligent Portfolios platform, we are updating our allocations to use the cheaper funds as their primary targets.

Changes to Our Technology, Mid Cap, & Small Cap Allocations (February 2022)
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A Technology correction may not happen, but moving more into Mid and Small Cap Value may help allocations even if it doesn’t.

Updates to Our Bond Allocation (April 2021)
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Recently, we lowered the duration of our U.S. Bond portfolio and increased the amount which is inflation protected. This article explains the reasons for this change.

An Overview of Our Allocation Changes (March 2021)
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We are constantly reviewing our portfolios’ asset allocations in order to bring them more in line with our Investment Committee’s best practices. Here is a summary of our recent changes.

New Funds for United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Canada
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We would expect the switch to Frankiln funds to save our clients 0.11% annually due to the lower expense ratio.

We Added Individual Stocks to Our Foreign Allocations (January 2021)
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We believe these 26 companies will be an effective weight to add foreign healthcare to our portfolios.

Do I Want To Give My Financial Advisor Discretion on My Account?
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Having a financial advisor who has discretion over your accounts is only a good idea if your financial advisor is covered under the fiduciary duty and is fee-only.

Four Reasons to Rebalance
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In these ways, rebalancing can be of great value to a long-term investor’s portfolio.

Misuse Of The Term ‘Rebalance’
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That is not what anyone means by the term “rebalancing.” The misuse of the term on Investment News was glaring.

More Freedom Investing Added to Marotta’s Schwab IIP Asset Allocation (June 2020)
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As a result of new fund additions, we added five new country-specific funds to our Schwab Institutional Intelligent Portfolio asset allocations.

The Stock-Bond Shuffle of Asset Location
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Oddly, this technique might involve selling a bond position in the taxable account for a small capital gain, and buying that exact same position in an IRA in order to keep the portfolio in balance.

Is ‘Sell The Bounce’ A Good Investing Strategy?
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“Sell the bounce” is never a good strategy because of the first word.

Markets are Down? Time to Rebalance!
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During a down market like this one, now is your chance both to harvest capital losses as they occur and rebalance your portfolio.

Q&A: Which Products Do You Buy and Which Do You Avoid?
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The selection of what products we purchase or avoid for clients is based solely on what we believe gives our clients the best chance to meet their goals.

You Are Probably Paying Too Much For Your Mutual Funds
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Check your own funds. You are likely paying too much for your mutual funds.

AAII’s Charles Rotblut on Rebalancing
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How to measure the rebalancing bonus and the benefits of staying invested after a market drop.

Many Funds Close, Others Should
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There is a science to portfolio construction. Selecting a random group of companies is just as bad as selecting a random group of funds.

2019 Analysis of Fund Families on the Marotta Buy List
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The Marotta Investment Committee typically builds portfolios with average expense ratios of about 0.24%.

The Value Matters in Stock Investing
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“Think of a stock as a machine that generates cash every few months.” Smaller companies that you have never heard of usually have a better return than the better known larger companies.

Radio: Financial Decisions in 2018
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Talking about the question “How should you manage your money in 2018?” this show covers a lot of ground over 23 minutes of conversation.

Asset Location Can Significantly Boost After-Tax Returns
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Exact asset location depends on the percentage of a portfolio held in each of the three types of accounts as well as the percentage of the portfolio which is to be allocated to each selected sector. But the boost in after-tax returns is well worth the effort.

Common Endowment Mistakes
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Prudent investment practice is as much about knowing what not to do as it is about knowing what to do.

One Powerful Method To Achieve Higher Investment Returns
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Long term investing does not require making quick emotional responses.

Write Down Your Investment Plan
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To protect yourself from behavioral errors, write down your investment plan.

How Long Should I Give An Investment Plan?
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Even the most brilliantly crafted investment plan has to be given time to work.

Why We Do Not Use Active Management
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Index investing seeks to track the return of a portion of the market. The opposite is active management.

The Art of the Rebalancing Bonus
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Portfolio design and rebalancing is both a science and an art. Knowing that rebalancing boosts returns is useless unless you as the investor follow through.

The Science of the Rebalancing Bonus
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Rebalancing can both boost returns and lower volatility, but most investors do not understanding how.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: Incomplete Rebalancing Algorithm
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See our review of the two pros and nine cons of how Schwab monitors and rebalances portfolios.

Is Rebalancing a “Myth”?
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You ought to know what it is that you are rebalancing.

The Importance Of The Investment Policy Statement
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Adherence to the fiduciary standard is all about process.

Financially Savvy Kittens on Market Timing
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This kitten doesn’t time the markets. Be more like this kitten.

Why Investors Don’t Rebalance
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“Perfectly rational individuals exhibit changing risk aversion that makes it hard for them to rebalance into high-return assets that have had steep price declines.”

Rebalancing Asset Classes and Subcategories
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Diversifying your portfolio means finding assets that have value on their own merits but do not move exactly alike. Here are the principles on building and rebalancing asset classes and subcategories.

The Rebalancing Premium
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When choosing between two bond funds with similar returns to team with a stock fund, choose the bond fund with lower correlation with the stock fund you’re selecting

Multiple Accounts: An Essential Management Tool
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To build real wealth, you need specific wealth management tools.Most families have less than half of the accounts they really need, and young newlyweds often only have a checking account.

Regular Adjustments Maximize Retirement Success
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Retirement planning consists of a wild scatter plot of potential projections. Navigating successfully through possible outcomes requires regular corrections and adjustments.

Investment Strategies Part 4: Don’t Rebalance at the Sector Level
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Rebalancing between asset classes boosts returns and decreases volatility. But setting your asset classes based on sectors of the economy is not an effective strategy.

Investment Strategies Part 3: Rebalance Regularly Between Asset Classes and Subcategories
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In this formula is deep wisdom, both for portfolio construction and for determining which categories are worth regular rebalancing.

Investment Strategies Part 1: Rebalance into Stable Investments in an Appreciating Market
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Diversifying your portfolio means finding assets that have value on their own merits but do not move exactly alike. A critical investment metric called “correlation” is used to construct a portfolio most likely to meet your personal financial goals.

Getting Started With Investing
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There isn’t a better time to invest than today. Getting started can be intimidating, but these simple steps will help you through your first few years of investing.

Video: Getting Started with Investing
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There isn’t a better time to invest than today. Getting started can be intimidating, but these simple steps will help you through your first few years of investing.

Rebalance Accounts Regularly
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A year ago when the markets were all setting new highs, people were asking what they should do with their retirement portfolio. I answered, “Rebalance.” Now that the market is setting new lows, I get the same question, and my response hasn’t changed.

Portfolio Rebalancing Boosts Returns
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Rebalancing your investments can help boost your returns and minimize risk. This simple contrarian move can help you compound your investment gains over time. With the markets at an all-time high, this may be a good time to rebalance your portfolio.

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