Featured entries from our Journal

Details Are Part of Our Difference

Embracing the Evidence at Anheuser-Busch – Mid 1980s

529 Best Practices

David Booth on How to Choose an Advisor

The One Minute Audio Clip You Need to Hear

Tag: Data

Lessons from a Lifetime of Investing

As the year comes to a close, it’s fitting that we take a moment to reflect on recent market lessons. But, you know we’ll never focus on any one year, so let’s consider the four most recent decades from 1975 through 2015. This captures nearly all of the investing lives of our clients. Here’s a summary of data taken at the beginning of each of the 10-year time periods.

Data Chart - 1975-2015

TAKEAWAYS

• The U.S. Real GDP more than tripled while the population only increased 49%, meaning real GDP per capita rose dramatically.

• The S&P 500 increased more than twenty times while consumer prices rose four and a half times.

It’s hard to believe the amount of growth we’ve experienced, especially having lived through 9/11 and the great recession in ’07-’09. Our suggestion: Take this opportunity to remind yourself of these facts, stick to a long-term investment plan, and get on with whatever brings you joy in the year ahead. We’ve achieved a lot, and we may just be getting started.

 

Playing the Probabilities

Playing the Probabilities

Have you ever asked us, “How long is the long view?” If so, this might be for you. After we build you a low-cost, evidence-based investment portfolio, what should you do next? For the most part, pretend like it doesn’t exist. In this example (which only looks at the S&P 500), you’d see a negative result nearly half of the time if you checked your returns on a daily basis. At the other extreme, if you only reviewed results for 20-year time periods, you would have seen positive performance every time.

We got the data from Ben Carlson’s blog (click here) and posted it on the chalkboard in our office as a regular reminder to continue taking the long view.

Slide of the Month

Click image for detail.
Click image for detail.

The slide of the month is a reminder that patient investing provides the ultimate payoff. Though our daily lives require near-term focus, successful investing demands a completely different vantage point. Click here for the full detail behind the image.

Featured entries from our Journal

Details Are Part of Our Difference

Embracing the Evidence at Anheuser-Busch – Mid 1980s

529 Best Practices

David Booth on How to Choose an Advisor

The One Minute Audio Clip You Need to Hear

Hill Investment Group