INSIGHTS

May 01, 2014Seems like everywhere an investor turns today we hear or read about the age-old market advice to “sell in May and go away!” Is this truly valuable investing wisdom and can it make a difference in helping you achieve your personal financial goals? One article provides this statistical information: “Over the last 40 years, the S&P 500 Index has averaged a gain of 7.56% from November through April and has been positive 80% of the time. From May through October, the average return is just 1.74%, with 67% of them positive.” (Rocky White, Schaeffer’s Investment Research)Another long time market forecaster, Mark Hulbert, pointed out that the first half of that time frame – the May through July period – has actually been very smooth sailing on average over the past 40 years compared with the latter part of the period. (Barron’s, 4/28/2014) This new data would suggest that maybe the old mantra should be updated to “sell in August”! Before you take this new advice to th...

April 02, 2014Are you an outcome oriented investor or a process driven investor? The two are obviously very different. Many investors focus on their investment return every day, every month or every quarter. We log into our investment account, sometimes daily, to determine if we see more green than red! If it’s red day after day, the sell order button is pushed and we look for some other pot of gold that is reporting in the green. Our timing couldn’t be more perfect…..maybe.But what if we focused on the process? A longer time horizon? What if we stuck to a methodical and disciplined approach and allowed sufficient time for the process to work? What would that outcome be over 3, 5, or 10 years? What would be your long term “draft choices”?Please enjoy this recent article from the Washington Post, for Barry Ritholz's thoughts. 

January 10, 2014To plan a journey, first you must know where you are going. Likewise, when planning your financial future, you must know what you want to achieve in your long-term vision. Only then can you chart your path.Unfortunately, financial advisors do not have a crystal ball. Neither do investors. Sure, they may get lucky and predict something from time to time, but it has been proven that this cannot be sustained over the long term. If financial advisors and investors alike do not have a crystal ball, what is the next best thing that they can have to achieve long-term success? Vision – without it people perish. When it comes to vision in investments, we are talking about a philosophy, a strategy, and a way to invest on purpose. This vision is not based on the latest news, the media hype, the next big thing, the expert’s predictions, etc. It is based on the science of investing. It is based on facts. For us at DHGWA, it is a clear investment philosophy based on scientific evid...

December 05, 2013In the old definition of investment advice, a financial advisor would try to forecast investments. In the new definition of investment advice, a financial advisor helps clients capture capital market rates of return by determining a client’s risk tolerance. Based on this information, a financial advisor can help structure the client’s portfolio in a way that effectively achieves the appropriate risk exposures.There are 5 key parts or “fingers” to this process of the new definition of “investment advice” (Source – Dimensional Fund Advisors :DiversificationEducationDisciplineCost EfficientHolistic ApproachThis old adage “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has been around for many years. Clients should invest across a wide range of asset classes that make the most sense for their individual goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Never stop learning – education is a requirement. This goes for both advisors and clients. Clients should have a clear understan...

November 14, 2013Dear Friends,We are pleased to announce that Eugene F. Fama has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. Professor Fama's groundbreaking work on asset pricing and markets inspired the founding of Dimensional Fund Advisors and his ongoing contributions have guided the investment approach of DHGWA.The image here will route you to a video of Professor Fama discussing the evolution of finance. Please enjoy.