1. A short video on the market’s response to Greece. Click here.
2. Did you like the Brad Pitt movie, Moneyball? Here’s the origin story of AVM Systems, the little-known company that jump-started sabermetrics and made Moneyball possible. Click here.
3. A great piece from The New York Times on the complicated world of investing. Click here.
4. A summary from DFA on the state of the mutual fund landscape. Click here.
5. DFA’s video detailing their fund construction and trading practices. Click here.

One of the first places to seek transparency with investing is in the kind of relationship your advisor or broker has with you. There are two distinct standards of care that divide our industry:

• Suitability, which means your broker can sell you anything that they think is a reasonable fit for your situation, and
• Fiduciary, which indicates a relationship where your interests are placed above those of the advisor.

For a brief, entertaining look at the difference, watch this video: Butchers vs. Dietitians.

A recent editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses the topic, and highlights the conflicts of interest present not only for the advisors, but also for the politicians debating calls to impose the fiduciary standard on traditional brokers. To quote this editorial, “It would put some financial services advisers out of business. That’s OK. In fact, it’s good. The ones it puts out of business should go away and the ones that remain should be those who want to put their clients’ needs and desires above their own.”

At Hill Investment Group we believe all financial advisors should be held to a fiduciary standard and think the proposed changes are good news for investors.

The Wall Street Journal’s recent article, “A Guide to Not Retiring,” provides a detailed look at how to approach retirement. Much like my piece on the same topic, “Planning for the Life You Want,” the recommendation is to proactively build a retirement plan—one that keeps you mentally engaged and active after retiring from your traditional work.

I did the same for myself as I neared the end of my 24-year career at Anheuser-Busch. I encourage you to read my article and complete the follow-up exercise. I trust that you’ll find it valuable.