The Investment Scientist

Archive for December 2010

New year resolution

Tom making his new year resolution

[Guest Post by Tom Warburton] How’s this for a New Year’s Resolution – repeat after me – I Resolve That I Will Abandon Personal Stock Picking And I Will Not Permit That Foolishness To Be Foisted Upon Me By Stock Brokers, Money Managers Or Financial Advisors.

New evidence shows up every day suggesting that it makes more sense to invest in index funds than to personally pick stocks, invest in hedge funds, invest in actively managed mutual funds or let a money manager pick stocks for you.

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Roth Conversion

As 2010 comes to a close, one time sensitive wealth management move affluent individuals and families should consider is converting an existing traditional IRA into a Roth IRA.

It is not a trivial decision, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. What I hope to accomplish below is to give you a framework to help you make the best decision for you and your family.

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icarra chart

MZ Capital 40/60 model vs S&P 500

Just like two sides of a coin, the capital market is made up of capital demanders (businesses) and capital suppliers (investors). What for businesses are costs of acquiring capital are for investors rewards of supplying it. It is a simple truth that

Costs of Capital = Expected Returns

Looking through this lens, many capital market phenomena can be explained.

Why small stocks tend to have higher returns than large stocks?

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Author

Michael Zhuang is principal of MZ Capital, a fee-only independent advisory firm based in Washington, DC.

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