At some point on your financial planning journey you’ll likely ask yourself questions regarding how to build and manage your long-term investing strategy. Trying to answer these questions may be intimidating, but know that you’re not alone. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive list it will hopefully shed light on a few key principles, using data and reasoning, to improve your long-term investing strategy.
Academic research has identified these equity and fixed income dimensions, which point to differences in expected returns. Investors can pursue higher expected returns by structuring their portfolio around these dimensions.
When serving clients virtually as a fiduciary financial advisor or in-person in Austin, TX, I am asked how volatility impacts their portfolio. While volatility may be back in the markets, my answer remains the same: play the long game!
The financial markets have rewarded long-term investors. People expect a positive return on the capital they supply, and historically, the equity and bond markets have provided growth of wealth that has more than offset inflation.
Past investment performance is no guarantee of future results. While often ignored, this is especially true for investors when choosing mutual funds. As an investment advisor in Los Angeles, I’ve seen some investors select mutual funds based on their past returns. Yet, past performance offers little insight into a fund’s future returns. For example, most funds in the top quartile (25%) of previous three-year returns did not maintain a top‐quartile ranking in the following three years.
Whether picking between funds, working with a fee-only investment advisor in Los Angeles or preparing for an international trip, pricing matters. Active investment management typically involves higher fees and trading costs with a portfolio manager trying to outperform the market. It’s easy to doubt the value of active investment management strategies when considering performance and survivorship of mutual funds. If there was an ability to identify mistakes and exploit mispriced securities, active investment management must be able to outperform their management fee and trading costs to outperform the market.
