Last week I enjoyed dinner with a group of people, one of which happened to be a hedge fund manager and fellow CFA charterholder. As us finance-types are wont to do, we quickly made our way to a discussion of every investment nerd’s favorite question: what is risk? Warren Buffett, in his 2014 Berkshire Hathaway annual letter (page 18), shared... Read More
In a recent article, Michael Kitces points out the dual benefits in staying off of the hedonic treadmill as it relates to income increases throughout your career—higher savings today and a lower required replacement income (meaning a lower portfolio balance is needed) when you retire. These two factors make a powerful combination in moving anyone towards their retirement number much quicker... Read More
1. We believe in being intentional What do you want to accomplish? Why do you want to accomplish it? Gaining this clarity by answering these “big questions” leads to better outcomes and a higher chance of success. When you get clear on your objectives, only then can the best strategy be put in place to accomplish them. Being intentional about... Read More
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. –Arthur Schopenhauer 19th-century German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer thought truth (and in this case, we'll extrapolate to include “new ideas”) passed through three stages: ridicule, opposition, then acceptance. While the index fund, which turned 40 last year, is a... Read More
Recently, legendary investor Charlie Ellis was interviewed by Barry Ritholtz on his Bloomberg Masters in Business podcast. The whole interview is worth your time, but here I wanted to focus on just one of the topics they covered: The danger in using rules of thumb. Here is the exchange: Ritholtz: As an investor, how do you aim in the right... Read More
Real estate is all about “location, location, location” as the saying goes and lately, Portland is the place to be. One of the strongest markets nationally, prices have risen 10.3% over the last year compared to 5.1% nationally, as measured by the Case-Shiller Home Price 20-city composite index. In fact, among the metro areas measured by the 20-city index over... Read More
Next month, Cordant is releasing a short eBook titled “Three Mistakes Intel Employees Make as They Approach Retirement.” One of the mistakes we identify in the eBook is a willingness for late-career employees to take on too much risk with their investments as they approach retirement. It's a mistake we frequently see among Intel employees, many of which are striving... Read More
This year on the Cordant blog, we’ll be answering questions that we frequently see, or that relate to a relevant topic for many readers. We'll kick if off with the following question about structuring a competition between two investment managers. Question: I will retire in one year. My 401(k) will be sizeable enough that I'm thinking of splitting it in... Read More
What if you had the choice between two investments: both earning $100 per year, but one taxed at 30%, and the other at 20%? For which would you be willing to pay more? What if investment A was otherwise identical to investment B, but had an upfront fee and significantly higher transaction costs than option B: Which would you rather... Read More
2016—What a year. If I had told you on New Year’s Eve 2015 that over the year upcoming we would see the U.S. market’s worst start to any calendar year ever; a surprise Brexit vote that shocked the financial markets; and a President-Elect Trump, how would you have invested your money over the next twelve months? I'm guessing, a common... Read More
