We encourage investors to mostly look past annual returns and keep their eyes on the market’s long-term performance. But it can be helpful to consider annual reports too, as long as we do so within this greater perspective.

Speaking of perspective, there’s also global versus domestic viewpoints. The Dimensional Fund Advisors chart below, ranking 2017 return sources, illustrates why we continue to believe it’s best to globally diversify your risks and expected returns around the world. While the U.S. S&P 500 performed nicely in 2017, returning just under 22 percent, notice how many international markets did even better, with emerging markets significantly outpacing all the rest.

Of course, from one year to the next, the reverse can easily be true. So, to quote Nick Murray, an industry thought leader:

“We will never own enough of any one idea to make a killing in it. We will never own enough of any one idea to risk being killed by it.”

This is what diversification is for.

Not long ago, keeping your financial stuff secure meant having a safety deposit box at your local bank. Wow, times have changed. A real or virtual safety deposit box still comes in handy, but it’s only the beginning. Not sure where to start building solid cybersecurity? Welcome to our periodic column, “In Your Cyber-Corner.” As Hill Investment Group’s Chief Operating Officer and resident “sheriff,” I’ll be offering one or two take-homes at a time. Today, I’ll take on the role a Trusted Contact Person (TCP) can play in safeguarding your stuff.

Picture this. You’re celebrating your 25^th wedding anniversary on an ocean cruise. Halfway through, your account custodian receives an unusual electronic request from “you,” asking for a substantial cash transfer abroad. Naturally, they would like to confirm whether it’s really you, but they are unable to reach you. They ask us, your advisor, but we can’t confirm your intentions either.

Or here’s another, far less happy, but increasingly common scenario. Unfortunately, your spouse is exhibiting early warning signs of dementia. One day, he contacts your account custodian out of the blue and asks for a cashier’s check on the entire $550,000 balance in his IRA account. Of course it’s his money, but …

What next? Many custodians (including Charles Schwab) allow you to designate TCPs to contact if they suspect you may be subject to financial exploitation, or with questions about your mental or physical well-being. For example, if you’ve named your daughter as a TCP, they can contact her, let her know what has transpired, and seek her input. Spouses also can name one another as TCPs for each other.

Your TCP does NOT have power of attorney (unless you’ve granted that separately). Schwab notes that your TCP “is not authorized to make investment decisions or withdraw funds from your account.” Naming a TCP does enable your custodian to place a temporary hold on suspicious transactions and report the incident to law enforcement agencies.

So go ahead, pack those bags, enjoy your busy life and make the most of your wealth. If you’re interested in more information on designating a TCP, simply email us at service@hillinvestmentgroup, or call us if you’re a Hill Investment Group client and we’ll make it happen.

Diversification isn’t just for investing. Discovering interesting perspectives from diverse sources strikes us a wise strategy as well.

John Jennings’ “Interesting Facts of the Day” or IFOD blog is one such source several of us at Hill Investment Group have been enjoying; we think you might too. We’re familiar with John’s firm, the St. Louis Trust Company, because it’s just a few floors up from our St. Louis offices.

John was originally inspired to launch IFOD based on the far-reaching facts he was hunting down to engage his young children (now teenagers). He discovered we grownups enjoyed IFODs as well, such as his recent post on the late Hyman Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis. Minsky (who also has St. Louis connections as a long-time professor of economics at Washington University) proposed that financial stability has a way of sowing the seeds of its own, destabilizing destruction. His theory may go a long way toward explaining why markets can so rapidly swing from boom to bust … which circles us back to our ongoing advice on maintaining a globally diversified portfolio in markets fair and foul.

Interesting stuff. We encourage you to subscribe to IFOD if you’d like to consider just about every subject under the sun (including this one on the sun itself).