by Brian Harris, Senior Editor, Dimensional Fund Advisors In recent years, structured products have gained favor among retail investors in Europe and the US. Investment banks promote these securities as sophisticated tools to help investors manage downside risk, enhance returns, or achieve other investment objectives. Sales have grown briskly since 2006, and despite a decline [...]

Why would anyone purposely buy the most risky, meaning volatile, asset class for their investment portfolio? Because, it will provide the highest expected return. How has that worked out for investors during 2009? Great, actually. The Emerging Markets asset class is the most volatile broad asset class there is. How was the performance last year [...]

The first two columns in this series by Brad Steiman offered answers to frequently asked questions about active vs. passive investing, and explored a general set of ideas around market efficiency. The main purpose has been to help build a framework for educating clients on the debate. There are other good reasons to approach the [...]

In his previous column, Brad addressed questions related to the theoretical aspects of market efficiency and active manager performance. In this second of his three-column series on active vs. passive investing, he explores the challenges of implementing these strategies in the real world. The previous column in this series focused on some theoretical aspects of [...]

Bradley G. Steiman is Director, Head of Canadian Financial Advisor Services  and Vice President for Dimensional Fund Advisors Canada ULC. This is the first of a three part interview series on the age old debate of Active vs Passive investment strategies. Q: If an active manager can gather information and gain insight or knowledge through [...]

Research indicates that humans are not naturally wired for prudent, long-term investing. Scott Bosworth, Vice President and Regional Director, describes common forms of behavioral bias and discusses how these biases influence investment decision making. He also explains how knowledge and discipline can help investors control their instincts for a better investment outcome. (Running time: 20:00) [...]

Widely cited as the father of the efficient market hypothesis and one of its strongest advocates, Professor Eugene Fama examines his groundbreaking idea in the context of the 2008 and 2009 markets. He outlines the benefits and limitations of efficient markets for everyday investors and is interviewed by the Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors in [...]

James L. Davis, Vice President, Dimensional Fund Advisors Investors are concerned about inflation, and rightly so. Average annual inflation in the US between 1929 and 2008 was nearly 3.3%. A dollar at the end of 2008 had about the same purchasing power as eight cents did at the beginning of 1929. Protecting the purchasing power [...]

Ken French The answer depends on why stockholders want to leave the market. During the financial crisis, some investors discovered that their tolerance for risk is lower than they thought, so it might make sense for them to permanently reduce their exposure to equities. Investors who wish to avoid the price impact of the recession, [...]

It seems that every few days or weeks this question comes up again – following some “change” in the financial environment. What if “Cap and Trade” passes? What if our healthcare system is Nationalized? The major banks have been taken over by the government as well as GM’s and Chrysler’s difficulties, what should we do [...]