What Is Extrapolation Bias And Why Care?

What Is Extrapolation Bias And Why Care?

In 2013 the U.S. stock market had its best return in over 15 years.  When you reviewed your portfolio in January of 2014, did you add to your investment in U.S. stocks because they did so well the previous year?  If so, then you were guilty of what is called in the jargon of behavioral…
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Can Popularity Impact Investment Returns?

It’s well understood that investment risk and returns go together.  Simply put, investors expect a premium, generally in the form of a higher return, for investing in higher-risk securities, where risk is quantified as return variability or volatility. This explains why over time stocks outperform bonds and why the returns on small company stocks are…
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Do Stop-Losses Reduce Investment Risk?

Stocks are among the most volatile of the many types of publicly-traded investments available to the public.  Whether you invest in stocks directly or through mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), you might feel more comfortable with your investments if you knew you could limit your losses in case the market or the particular company…
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Where To Get Cash After A Layoff?

If you lose your job due to a layoff, the first thing you generally do is to start cutting expenses while searching for the next one.  But if you’re in your late 50s or early 60s, your prospects may be considerably more limited.  Although it’s illegal for employers to discriminate because of age, the fact…
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Best Place to Retire: You Choose!

Earlier this year I wrote about a Bankrate.com article recommending South Dakota as the best place to retire (https://www.cognizantwealth.com/2014/05/15/should-you-retire-to-south-dakota/).   I remarked that since we are all different, it would be more helpful to create a database of factors and leave it to us to decide for ourselves.  The people at Reuters must have read my…
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Is Active Investing Better Than Passive?

Philosophically most investors fall into one of two camps when it comes to selecting mutual funds.  Some prefer actively managed funds while others have a preference for those that are passively managed.  What’s the difference?  According to Investopedia, active managers rely on analytical research, forecasts, and their own judgment and experience in making investment decisions…
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