Richard Thaler, the recent winner of the Nobel prize for economics, is a brilliant man. Anyone interested in how the human mind works should read Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, the 2008 book he wrote with Cass Sunstein. Thaler and Sunstein make a relatively simple argument based on years of economic research… Continue reading →

North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) is not just a group I give charity to— it is an integral part of my life. As an avid outdoorsman, I find the core values of Outward Bound especially appealing. But it is their tremendous work with young people that motivated me to support NCOBS in a more hands-on role.… Continue reading →

Whatever you might think of our current president, you can’t say he doesn’t think big. The Trump-GOP tax plan just announced has the potential to impact retirement savers in fundamental, long-term ways that could be positive for many Americans. The plan is a long way from reality and is likely to see some changes before… Continue reading →

Nearly 10 years ago, iconic billionaire investor Warren Buffett took what seemed like a contrarian bet for a professional stock picker. He bet any comer that a simple, low-cost investment in the S&P 500 would beat a hedge fund strategy over 10 years. On the line was $1 million, to be paid to a charity… Continue reading →

I sat down with client and friend Morra Aarons-Mele to discuss the recent publication of her new book Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert’s Guide to Getting Out There (When You’d Rather Stay Home) and explore the anxiety that many people feel about money. Aarons-Mele is a successful Internet marketer and host of the popular podcast, Hiding… Continue reading →

A new study of our innate human biases reinforces the value of diversification when it comes to stock investing. Short version: We just can’t help ourselves when we think we know something. Scientists call this confirmation bias, the unconscious way we seek out information that proves we are “right” about closely held ideas. The problem is… Continue reading →

Walk down the aisles of your local grocery store. If you’ve been shopping for a few decades, you know a few things almost without thinking. Fresh foods are along the walls, dry goods in the center aisles. Store brands are usually just fine and cheaper. Now look at the shelves. Some products (say, fancy ground… Continue reading →

Recently, Rebalance hosted a screening and panel discussion of HBO’s Bernie Madoff biopic, The Wizard of Lies. The main question I posed as moderator to our panel of retirement safety experts was simply, “What can we learn from the Bernie Madoff saga?” Panelists Phyllis Borzi, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and Elizabeth Kelly each weighed in with their… Continue reading →

The money manager and columnist Barry Ritholtz makes a timely and important point in his most recent opinion piece for Bloomberg: Passive investing is an illusion. Nobody is truly a passive investor because all investing involves selection. Even if you choose the broadest possible global stock index fund, you’ve still chosen some stocks and ignored… Continue reading →