Firstmetric

Great short article...
"That’s why cost is such an effective first-stage screen in selecting investments: Not only do lower-cost investments save money, but they also keep the four horsemen at bay, thus upping the odds of investor success."
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1092496/the-four-horsemen-of-investing Morningstar, Inc.

The Four Horsemen of Investing Corral these risks to improve the odds of investor success.

I always find human emotions interesting - when the stock/bond markets have gone down like they have YTD, many people find it hard to invest new cash - but when the markets were at all time highs people could not wait to get new cash invested. Just invest when you have new cash!

Yes, Direct Indexing does suck and the vast majority of people don't need it and should move very slowing if their adviser brings up the topic and run fast if they keep pushing it. Do your research - there are very few situations where this strategy may make sense for someone and it's not for what the Wall Street product machines and advisers are pushing it for.

Don't poison your clients' portfolios with Direct Indexing! Direct indexing sucks – don’t do it. Here are the reasons it will ruin your clients’ lives and you should run away as fast as you can.

Good short article...

Why Vanguard’s Jack Bogle was a punk A new book shows just how radical Bogle was – and that his true legacy is the company’s mutual ownership, not its beloved index funds.

Whole life insurance is "NOT" an investment & don't let all those insurance salespeople (calling themselves financial advisers) tell you otherwise. It's just "very" expensive life insurance. If you need life insurance then the vast majority of time cheap term insurance works just fine.

There is no such thing as socially responsible investments / portfolios. It's smoke and mirrors and just another example of the financial and investment community taking advantage of the desire of people to be socially responsible to extract higher fees.

Higher financial adviser fees ≠ better client outcomes, better services provided, etc. (which apparently advisers call this "value" - whatever the heck that means).

Low-fee (more like "fair" fee advisers) provide just as good of outcomes, services, etc. as high fee advisers.

I never liked the terms "comprehensive financial planning" or "holistic planning" or life planning". No one knows what they mean. Heck...even advisers can't even agree amongst themselves what they mean - so how should non-advisers expect to understand these terms & services?

Great short article including the views of Scott Salaske, CEO of Firstmetric...

Schwab Plans April Debut of 'Personalized Indexing' Charles Schwab's direct indexing option will start with three indices, tax management and daily attention, and be available to advisors, the custodian announced.

Good article...
- Risk is uncertainty about lifetime consumption.
- The average dollar invested holds the market.
- Chance dominates realized returns.
- Active investing is a negative sum game.
- Most investors should diversify their portfolios.
https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/insights/five-things-i-know-about-investing

Five Things I Know about Investing | Dimensional Fund Advisors Dartmouth finance professor Kenneth R. French explains five investment principles that he uses as the foundation for a holistic approach to portfolio design.