Topical Financial Issues

What does a century of economic cycles teach investors about investing? Our interactive exhibit examines how stocks have behaved during US economic downturns. Markets around the world have often rewarded investors even when economic activity has slowed. 

This is an important lesson on the forward-looking nature of markets, highlighting how current market prices reflect market participants’ collective expectations for the future.

With over 200,000 financial advisors in the United States, how do you pick one?

Trust the financial advisor who trusts the market.

These are people who help investors try to capture the returns of the market rather than attempting to outsmart it. Decades of research supports this strategy. So does the explosive growth of index funds.

On Friday, March 10, regulators took control of Silicon Valley Bank as a run on the bank unfolded. Two days later, regulators took control of a second lender, Signature Bank. With increasing anxiety, many investors are eyeing their portfolios for exposure to these and other regional banks.

Rather than rummaging through your portfolio looking for trouble when headlines make you anxious, turn instead to your investment plan. Hopefully, your plan is designed with your long-term goals in mind and is based on principles that you can stick with, given your personal risk tolerances. While every investor’s plan is a bit different, ignoring headlines and focusing on the following time-tested principles may help you avoid making shortsighted missteps.

Jul 29, 2021

After last year’s economic shocks, we shouldn’t be surprised to see prices rebounding.

But the potential for inflation is one among many factors investors take into account when agreeing on a price at which to trade.

A look at headlines from the past 50 years shows the difficulty of timing markets around inflation expectations. Investors may be better served sticking to a long-term plan.

How quickly things change.

Two years ago, the New York Times reported, “Federal Reserve officials are increasingly worried that inflation is too low and could leave the central bank with less room to maneuver in an economic downturn.”1 More recently, a Wall Street Journal article presented a sharply different view, with a headline that likely touched a raw nerve among investors: “Everything Screams Inflation.” The author, a veteran financial columnist, observed, “We could be at a generational turning point for finance. Politics, economics, international relations, demography and labor are all shifting to supporting inflation.”

Riding Out the Storm: Seven Lessons

10 Attributes of Great Financial Advisors

Dimensional Fund Advisors have been working with financial advisors for more than three decades. To recognize the impact they have on the investor experience, we compiled a list of 10 attributes of great financial advisors.

The Cost of Trying to Time the Market

The impact of being out of the market for a short time can be profound. Staying invested and focused on the long term helps to ensure that you’re in position to capture what the market has to offer.

Markets Don’t Wait for Official Announcements

Some investors may worry about the stock market sinking after a recession is officially announced. But history shows that markets incorporate expectations ahead of economic reports.

The Power of Compounding—in Health and Wealth

Don’t settle for the status quo when you can do just a little bit better—because a little bit becomes a lot over time.