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Recent Articles from David Peartree
Worth Considering: Complex products are stacked against the investor
In the world of investment products, investors should keep in mind one simple rule: complexity favors the house. The house in this context is the investment company selling the product. Investor, complexity is not your friend. A recent study looked at the use of complicated investment strategies in mutual funds. The authors examined this question: […]
Worth Considering: Three performance problems with most mutual funds
For all their virtues, mutual funds have some serious flaws. To their credit, mutual funds can provide things that most investors desire, things like broad diversification, transparent holdings, good liquidity and easy trading. Unfortunately, most mutual also have serious performance flaws. They underperform. The most serious and often discussed problem is that most mutual funds […]
Worth Considering: Have ETFs made mutual funds obsolete?
In recent years, we have heard mutual funds characterized as outdated and inferior to the newer type of pooled investment known as exchange-traded funds or ETFs. Are they? ETFs are certainly newer and more innovative. New fund launches in recent years have overwhelmingly been ETFs as opposed to mutual funds. Mutual funds, by comparison, can […]
Worth Considering: The power of markets from the perspective of a pencil
In the age of iPhones and other technological marvels, it is easy to overlook the marvels of more mundane products. Such is the case with simple lead pencil. The story of the pencil is a reminder of the creative possibilities of collective human efforts; it also illustrates an important lesson for investors. Nearly 60 years […]
Worth Considering: Stock returns aren’t what you may think
The brutal truth is that most stocks are a poor investment. That’s a shocking claim because it runs counter to the widely held assumption that most stocks will be a good investment if held long enough. After all, investors are constantly reminded to stick with their investments for the long-term and are told that patience […]
Worth Considering: The stock market isn’t what it used to be
Today’s U.S stock market is very different from the stock market of 40 or even 20 years ago. To start, the universe of publicly traded stocks has become much smaller. There are fewer listed stocks than in the past. The phenomenon is discussed in a report issued earlier this year by Credit Suisse, titled “The […]
Worth Considering: Benchmark your investment performance
Investors should compare their investment performance against an appropriate market benchmark. Let’s take a look at why and how to do it. Benchmarking refers to setting reasonable expectations for investment performance using broad market indices. Many investors will instinctively look at the performance of the S&P 500 Index or, worse, the Dow Jones Industrial Average […]
Worth Considering: Has the shift to passive index investing been overstated?
Investors are shifting away from actively managed funds and towards passively managed funds. The financial media have interpreted this as a “seismic” shift from active to passive investing, but they probably overstate, or perhaps they misunderstand, what is occurring. Lost in the discussion is a crucial distinction between using passive funds and using a passive […]
Worth Considering: A lesson from Buffett’s winning bet against hedge funds
Warren Buffett has won his 10-year bet against a group of hedge funds. The story of the bet is not widely known despite coverage by the financial press, but it holds a valuable lesson for investors. Here is the exact text of the bet: “Over a ten-year period commencing on January 1, 2008, and ending […]
Worth Considering: Take steps to avoid having abandoned investments
Adopting what is loosely referred to as a “buy-and-hold” approach to investing can make great sense for a long-term investor so long as it is properly understood and does not turn into “set-it-and-forget-it.” The “forget it” part can be problematic. Buy-and-hold investing really should be called “buy-and-manage.” Sound portfolio management includes tasks such as routinely […[...]
Worth Considering: The latest scoring by S&P Dow Jones on active fund managers
The latest SPIVA report by S&P Dow Jones offers a mix of old and new news about the performance of active investment managers. What’s new is that their scoring of performance for the first time extends over 15 years, a much longer time period over which to assess the performance of active managers. The old […]
Worth Considering: Understand different approaches to correctly measure your investment performance
The absence of a uniform standard for reporting investment performance presents a challenge for investors. As a rule, investment advisers are not required to report investment performance and, even if they do, there is no uniform standard for how the performance should be reported. In a recent article (“Correctly measuring your investment performance”) we discussed […]
Case Digests
- Fourth Department – Negligent performance: Rosenthal v. Syracuse University, et al.
- Second Circuit – Visual Artists Rights Act: Kerson v. Vermont Law School Inc.
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Former foreclosure referee: Opinion 22-157
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – College honorarium: Opinion 22-156
- Second Circuit – Reasonable accommodation: Tafolla v. Heilig
- Fourth Department – Labor Law: Primisch v. Peroxychem LLC
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Judicial candidacy: Opinion 22-155
- Fourth Department – Defamation: Lavine v. Glavin
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Law clerk: Opinion 22-154
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Review of another judge’s actions: Opinion 22-153
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Charitable contributions: Opinion 22-150
- Second Circuit – Class action settlement: Moses v. The New York Times Company
Law News
- Appeals court upholds conviction
- Federal lawsuit reinstated against jail officer over strip search, delayed release
- Hyzon to pay $25M penalty to settle alleged fraud charges by SEC
- NY appeals court reinstates lawsuit over contract to remove snow
- Fourth Department affirms $400K judgment in contract dispute
- Fourth Department affirms decision in NY property dispute
- Greenlight Networks selects Buffalo-based attorney as general counsel
- Barclay Damon hires attorney Matt Smith
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