Category Archives: Plainmoney investing

The “Plainmoney” approach to investing

Monitor your financial adviser?

That’s the issue in a USA Today financial column — how can you tell whether your broker is doing a good job for you? For people who are trying to play the markets, that’s a real issue. Is a stock … Continue reading →

“It’s not vulnerable to wild rides”

Reasons just keep mounting up to follow a simple stock market strategy of buying and holding index funds. There was a one-day “wild ride” on the major stock exchanges May 6, 2010. Stocks lost hundreds of points in minutes and … Continue reading →

“It’s not a synthetic CDO”

Much has been made of transactions involving Goldman Sachs and big-dollar investors who lost big-time. That has very little to do with the individual investor. Those were all big players taking big risks — and, unfortunately, it seems many of … Continue reading →

Index funds in your 401k

I’m sometimes asked, “What should I hold in my 401k plan?” Of course, my answer is “index funds” — tilted more toward stock index funds if you’re young, bond index funds if you’re old. My book explains some simple rules … Continue reading →

Another reason for indexing

Another good reason for indexing: When “market professionals” make a bet on a part of the market to outperform the rest, they’re often wrong. Here’s a Wall Street Journal article on why bond mutual funds let investors down. In short, … Continue reading →

Have you already missed the bottom?

A popular, but flawed, way of trying to benefit from the ups and downs of the stock market is to sell out at the top and buy in again at the bottom. This is known as “market timing” and it’s … Continue reading →

It’s not a Ponzi scheme

Add this to the list of reasons why “buy and hold index funds” is a relatively good investment strategy: It’s not a Ponzi scheme. A bit of explanation: In a Ponzi scheme, a shady operator takes in money, claiming to … Continue reading →

The “black swan” flies again

For the average investor, it’s hard to beat “buy and hold” over the long term, even though there will be times — such as now — that other strategies will look attractive. One such strategy is the “black swan” strategy … Continue reading →

Sound advice in a crash

Those who make big sudden changes in their portfolios almost always regret it. Example: If you sold right after the 1987 crash, you lost 24 percent. If you held on two years, until September 1989, you got it all back. … Continue reading →

The enduring wisdom of “Buy and Hold”

In my book, I recommend not investing in the stock market until you have your financial house in order and are willing to let the money stay in the market. And once you’ve reached that point, you buy and hold. … Continue reading →