Understanding the Size Factor
This is Part 4 in a series about smart beta ETFs. See below for links to other posts in the series. In this installment, we look at the size factor: the idea that smaller companies should deliver high [...]
Understanding the Value Factor
This is Part 3 in a series about smart beta ETFs. See below for links to other posts in the series. In this installment, we look at the value factor: the idea that stocks whose prices are low relative [...]
A Brief History of Smart Beta
This post is Part 2 in a series about smart beta ETFs. See below for links to other posts in the series.  Smart beta is a relatively new term, but its roots stretch back several decades. Let’s l [...]
Smart Beta ETFs: Your Complete Guide
Remember when index funds simply tracked the broad markets? I do, but I also remember renting movies on VHS and watching the Leafs in the second round of the playoffs. Today there are ETFs tracking ev [...]
How Long Will You Wait for Smart Beta to Work?
In my last post I shared some insights from Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense, which argues that investors are generally better off keeping their portfolios simple and straightforward. This idea [...]
It’s Better With Beta
The title of Larry Swedroe’s latest book, The Incredible Shrinking Alpha, raises a question: what happened to the idea that skilled managers can consistently beat the market? In a recent interview wit [...]
Market Timing Goes to College
In recent years, the so-called Yale Model has been extremely popular with investors. The model is an attempt to mimic the investment strategy used by Ivy League endowment funds, which have an outstand [...]
Are Active Funds Adding Value?
Just how well are mutual fund investors faring in Canada? That question isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. The Standard & Poor’s Indices Versus Active (SPIVA) reports are useful for determin [...]
Market Forecasts Prove Worthless—Again
I’m confused by a lot of things in investing, but the enduring influence of market forecasts is the one that stumps me the most. Year after year, expert predictions, estimates, forecasts and projectio [...]
Why You Should Beware of First Dates
Imagine that you’re the marketing director for MegaAlpha Investments and you want to advertise two of your mutual funds. In the September 2011 issue of Performance Chaser magazine, you place the follo [...]
