Do Mutual Funds Increase Disclosure Complexity to Hide Fees?
Do mutual funds create unnecessarily complex disclosures and fee structures to obfuscate weak net performance? Yes.
Do Financial Advisors Transmit their Biases to Clients? Yes.
Are there similarities in the trading behavior of financial advisors and their clients? Are fees paid by advisors and clients similar too? Are advisers overconfident in their skill at identifying active managers and in their ability to outperform passive investments?
AA Welcomes the Newest Deadlifter to the Team: Jess Bost
BROOMALL, PA -- Alpha Architect, LLC announces that Jess Bost, RICPⓇ has joined the firm as Vice President - Brand Partnerships. In her newly created role, Mrs. Bost will develop and expand upon current RIA [...]
We Should Increase Trust in Financial Services
Trust and Financial Advice Burke and HungJournal of Pension Economics and Finance, 2021A version of this paper can be found hereWant to read our summaries of academic finance papers? Check out our Academic Research Insight category What are [...]
How Powerful is the Wealth Effect?
Stock Market Returns and Consumption Marco Di Maggio, Amir Kermani and Kaveh MajlesiJournal of Finance, 2020A version of this paper can be found hereWant to read our summaries of academic finance papers? Check out our Academic Research [...]
What Matters to Individual Investors? Evidence from the Horse’s Mouth
What Matters to Individual Investors? Evidence from the Horse's Mouth James Choi and Adriana RobertsonJournal of Finance, 2020A version of this paper can be found hereWant to read our summaries of academic finance papers? Check out [...]
Can the Best Stock Pickers Still Beat the Market? An Out of Sample Test
Can mutual fund stars still pick stocks?: A replication and extension of Kosowski, Timmermann, Wermers, and White (2006) Timothy Riley and Sam WaltonCritical Review of Finance, 2019A version of this paper can be found hereWant to [...]
How to Optimize Fixed Annuity Tax Deferral
Annuities are popular tools for retirement income planning. While stigmas exist around some annuity products (for good reason), recent research shows how fixed annuities can add value in the context of retirement income. In addition [...]
What is Impact Investing?
Impact Investing 2.0: Not Just for Do-Gooders Anymore Diana LiebermanThe Journal of Investing, Winter 2020A version of this paper can be found hereWant to read our summaries of academic finance papers? Check out our Academic Research Insight category [...]
Planning Opportunities: Why Gift It, If You Can Loan It?
The coincidence of historically low-interest rates and the increased gift tax exemption under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has temporarily created an opportunity for high net worth families to tax-efficiently transfer wealth from generation to generation. Of course, families can use their [...]
The Use and Value of Financial Advice for Retirement Planning: Part 1/2
The Use and Value of Financial Advice for Retirement Planning W.V. Arlow, K.C. Brown, and S.E. JenksJournal of Retirement, Winter 2020A version of this paper can be found hereWant to read our summaries of academic finance [...]
Enterprise Multiples and Expected Stock Returns
Why Do Enterprise Multiples Predict Expected Stock Returns? Steve Crawford, Wesley Gray and Jack VogelJournal of Portfolio Management, forthcomingA version of this paper can be found hereWant to read our summaries of academic finance papers? Check [...]
Active Share: Predictor of Future Performance or Urban Legend?
The crowning achievement for investors is the ability to identify which of the few active mutual funds will outperform in the future. Despite an overwhelming body of academic research which has demonstrated that past performance [...]
Alternative Investments – A Field Manual
It's not a perfect world out there and often times alternative funds are mischaracterized, misused, and not put through a rigorous enough portfolio construction process. It's my hope that I can forewarn you of the [...]
Spending Policies in a Low Return Environment
Evaluating Spending Policies in a Low Return Environment Peng Wang, Laura Chapman, Steven Peterson, and Jon Spinney Financial Analyst Journal, Fall 2018 A version of this paper can be found here Want to read our summaries of [...]
What Induces Children to Save (More)?
What Induces Children to Save (More)? Moritz Lukas (University of Hamburg) and Markus Nöth (University of Hamburg) A version of this paper can be found here Want to read our summaries of academic finance papers? Check [...]
There and Back Again: My 180 Back to Simplicity
I’m 34. I have some savings (long-term investments), earn a respectable living, and am comfortable—and happy—spending modestly relative to income. I have a simple balance sheet and no debt. I don’t ever want to fully [...]
Equity Compensation Planning in a TCJA World
Employee equity & stock options are a major part of the modern compensation plan. That's certainly the case for my financial planning clients. Unfortunately, a search for the best approach to managing your equity opens [...]
Structuring Lower Risk Opportunity Zone Investments
The tax benefits of the new Opportunity Zone program are potentially phenomenal. However, when you dig into the details of the program you quickly realize that many of the investment options are typically higher-risk and [...]
Using Flexible Spending to Achieve Financial Goals
Financial planning and specifically portfolio "safe" withdrawal rates are often viewed and analyzed from the perspective of rigid rules that can't be broken - i.e., you will take an inflation adjusted 4% of starting portfolio [...]