rob zand

Show Navigation

As active managers, we believe that unexpected market events happen frequently, and that the tails of a normal probability curve don’t accurately account for their likelihood. We also think risk can be managed: Viewed through the lens of the market cycle, wise investors should take less risk when the economy is going to contract, when other investors are overly enthusiastic, and when risk assets are expensive or overvalued. On the other hand, informed investors should take more risk when the economy is expanding, when other investors are overly depressed, and when risk assets are cheap. We believe that short-term market movements (measured in days) are impossible to forecast, but that over the market cycle, we can assign probabilities for both the news and investor response to it; that helps us determine how best to manage risk in our client accounts.

Managing Different Kinds of Risk

3 weeks ago

The funds, which have become an integral part of many Americans’ 401(k) plans, are designed to protect investors by decreasing their exposure to stocks and increasing their bond holdings as people get closer to retirement, or their “target” year. But the average fund with about four years until its target date fell 0.4% in 2011, according to Morningstar Inc., a fund-research firm. That trails the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, which gained 2%, including dividends, and is well below the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index, which rose nearly 8% for the year.

Target-Date Funds End Another Year Far Away From Bull’s-Eye - WSJ.com

3 weeks ago

Index funds tend to beat actively managed funds over time given their low costs.

Fund Expenses More Important Than 5-Star Status - NYTimes.com

3 weeks ago

If past performance is any indication of future returns, it’s not surprising that investors are skeptical of the mutual fund industry. In the past five years, more than two-thirds of the 5,000-plus funds followed by Morningstar have done worse than the underlying stock and bond indexes they’re supposed to beat, or at least track. That sorry performance has left millions of people fuming and frustrated — to the point where investors have yanked $340 billion out of stock funds since January 2008.

The Top 100 Mutual Funds - SmartMoney.com

3 weeks ago

Schwab, like other 401(k) providers, found efforts to educate employees haven’t proven so successful — and only 10% of workers take advantage of such offerings. So the company just announced a new index-fund-only 401(k), which will keep expenses down, and include mandatory advice on investments. “Many employees don’t understand what they are losing to expenses — sometimes 55 to 110 basis points,” says Jim McCool, an executive vice president at Schwab. “They don’t realize what a drag it is on their retirement savings.

Secrets of the 401(k) Millionaires - SmartMoney.com

3 weeks ago

the secret behind Google’s somewhat bland design was that if Google looked like it was designed by a machine, users would implicitly understand that Google search itself was unpolluted by strong opinions

is-too-much-plus-is-a-minus-for-google

4 weeks ago

As it turns out, people are not very good at predicting what will make them happy and how long that happiness will last. They expect positive events to make them much happier than those events actually do, and they expect negative events to make them unhappier than they actually do. In both field and lab studies, we’ve found that winning or losing an election, gaining or losing a romantic partner, getting or not getting a promotion, passing or failing an exam—all have less impact on happiness than people think they will. A recent study showed that very few experiences affect us for more than three months. When good things happen, we celebrate for a while and then sober up. When bad things happen, we weep and whine for a while and then pick ourselves up and get on with it.

The Science Behind the Smile - Harvard Business Review

4 weeks ago

It’s the last goodbye I swear
I can’t survive
On a half hearted love
That will never be whole

last goodbye, the kills

1 month ago

Bank analyst Nancy Bush says with businesses and consumers still focused on reducing debt, there just is not the same need for financial services as a whole as there was before.

“And that’s why you’re seeing the banks respond to the present environment with layoffs, branch closures, etc.,” she says. “We just don’t need them anymore; it’s that simple.”

Layoffs Hit Wall Street As Financial Needs Change - WNYC

1 month ago

readers crave authentic voice in the digital era

What a Blockbuster Forbes Post Says About the Tyranny and Future of the Page View - Forbes

1 month ago