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Finance and Financial Management

Butler University

2014

Chapter 01

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Business

All-Time Market Highs And Market Timing, Steven D. Dolvin Sep 2014

All-Time Market Highs And Market Timing, Steven D. Dolvin

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With the market at all-time highs, many investors are left wondering if stocks are still attractive investments. Based on PE ratios, the market's current level of 17.5 if slightly above the historical average, but not excessively so. Thus, if corporate profits remain strong, valuations could remain stable (so says some analysts). See article and video here, Fidelity. The video also discusses the difficulty of market timing, which is a good reminder for most investors.


Fees Matter, Steven D. Dolvin May 2014

Fees Matter, Steven D. Dolvin

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A 1% annual fee doesn't sound like much, but when compounded, fees paid to advisors and managers can have a significant impact on an investor's ending portfolio value. For example, consider two investors who each invest $200,000 and earn 8%/year (before fees) for 30 years. The first investor uses an ETF that charges 0.04%/year in fees, while the second investor uses a mutual fund charging 1.25%/year. The first investor ends with roughly $2 million, while the second nets about $1.4 million. The difference is purely driven by fees -- this is a huge cost. (See article here, Wall Street …


The Benefit Of Financial Advisors, Steven D. Dolvin Mar 2014

The Benefit Of Financial Advisors, Steven D. Dolvin

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Many individual investors believe that the primary role of a financial advisor is to "pick stocks." However, research shows that not only are active managers not able to outperform the market consistently, but that the security selection piece is really not the most important determinant of portfolio return. The key issue is asset allocation. A recent report (see article here, InvestmentNews) suggests that financial advisors can add value, but primarily from activities unrelated to security selection: determining asset allocation, helping clients avoid behavioral errors, facilitating rebalancing, reducing fees, and managing taxes and withdrawals.