You probably know about asset allocation (the process of selecting what assets to own and in what percentage). And you may have heard of asset location (placing your least tax-efficient assets in tax-deferred accounts). But what the heck is asset (investment) integration? Simply put, investment integration is the process of viewing all assets as a coordinated whole (as opposed to... Read More
The past month has been a little bumpy in the market. Since September 18th, the S&P 500 is down a little more than 6%—reminding us of a very important (although often forgotten) point: The stock market can go both up AND down. We’ve had a great run over the past five years, but at some point corrections do happen. What’s... Read More
In a recent news story, a large advisory team at a major brokerage firm was fired for what is known as “selling away”. For those of you that aren’t familiar, "selling away" is a securities rule that prohibits employees of brokerage firms from soliciting customers to buy an investment that has not been approved or vetted by their firm. Seems... Read More
A Case Study: John and Cathy are in their 50s, and have begun to think about retirement. They have four children – one of whom, Matthew (age 25), suffers from a disability. The disability is not pronounced enough for Matthew to need full time care. In fact, for many years John and Cathy have been working hard to help him... Read More
Recently, the Oregonian ran an article on Intel’s retirement plan and their use of hedge funds investments. If you didn’t get the chance to read it, the article discusses Intel’s use of hedge funds in its retirement plans and “forcing” company contributions into them. The author wrote that his “logic board” locked up upon this discovery. (It may be time... Read More
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost "The Road Not Taken" I had a conversation with a friend recently regarding the merits and joys of running. My friend told me about a run one early, weekend morning. He watched a perfect Portland... Read More
Some decisions in life (like choosing a grocery store) do not require a great deal of thought. These choices are relatively minor, and typically a product of convenience. On the other hand, some decisions (like doing business with a new business or firm) are much more substantial, involve in-depth analysis, and a level of mutual trust. That’s because unlike a... Read More
Online security has been a hot topic of conversation lately, and it’s easy to see why. It seems like every week we’re hearing a story about another breach, and many people are becoming wary about the accessibility of their financial information. It’s hard to forget mega retailer Target Corp.’s recent data hack, deemed one of the biggest cybercrimes of all... Read More
Recently on the Cordant blog, we examined equity valuations in the US market, and whether US equities are unreasonably expensive. We concluded that while US valuations are high, they are not wildly so - and could very well remain high given the current low rate, low inflation and low volatility environment.While predicting a market correction, or timing the market in... Read More
“Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections, or trying to anticipate corrections, than has been lost in corrections themselves.” – Peter Lynch US Equity Valuations The last five years have been pretty great for equity investors — particularly investors in US equities. The US equity market rewarded investors with an 18% annualized gain over the last... Read More
