mutual funds Archives | Wealthfront Blog Personal Finance & Investing Insights Wed, 12 Jan 2022 01:12:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/cropped-wave-logo-transparent-hi-res-500x500.png mutual funds Archives | Wealthfront Blog 32 32 Is Indexing Worse Than Marxism? https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/indexing-worse-than-marxism/ Tue, 22 Nov 2016 04:07:16 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=7094 Index funds have always been ridiculed by active mutual-fund managers.  Two recent events have fueled a new set of criticisms.  The mid-year 2016 Standard and Poor’s report on index fund performance showed that the superiority of low-cost indexing, whether in the form of mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has increased over time.  Over the […]

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]]> The Unexpected Impact of Commissions https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/unexpected-impact-of-commissions/ Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:48:56 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=4247 The recent enhancement to our tax loss harvesting service prompted a few readers to privately ask if it’s possible for us to use Dimensional Fund Advisors’ (DFA) mutual funds rather than ETFs to implement our service. Prior to our launch in December 2011, we considered both Vanguard and DFA products as they offer what we […]

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]]> Investors’ Most Serious Mistake https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/top-investor-mistake-time-market/ Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:21:36 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=3581 Without doubt, the most serious mistake individual investors make is trying to time the market. Neither individual nor professional investors are able to make consistently accurate calls on the direction of market prices. In fact, I have never known anyone who knows anyone who has consistently made accurate directional bets on either equity or bond […]

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]]> Five Ways ETFs Surpass Index Funds https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/passive-investing-etfs-vs-index-funds/ Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:13:59 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=3539 We often get the question from clients: What is the difference between an index fund and an ETF? Even people who understand ETFs don’t understand the difference between these two kinds of investment products. We believe ETFs are index funds, evolved. To understand why ETFs represent such an advance over index funds, you have to […]

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]]> The Case Against Maxing Out Your 401(k) https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/max-out-401k-company-match/ Thu, 24 Jan 2013 23:34:17 +0000 http://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=3528 Most every personal finance blog I have ever read recommends maxing out your 401(k) contribution. They tell you to “just do it” – contribute as much as you can, as early as you can. I couldn’t disagree more. Forced savings I believe most bloggers (and many financial planners and low-quality investment advisors) recommend maximizing 401(k) […]

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]]> Lessons from 2011 And Ideas For Investing In 2012 https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/the-best-market-outlooks-for-2012/ Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:41:11 +0000 https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/?p=1714 The first week of the New Year was marked by plenty of stories that talked about the outlook for the capital markets in 2012. Investors should ignore most of them. If you need evidence of why you should ignore most of them, look back to the turn of 2011, when nine out of 10 stock […]

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]]> Morningstar’s New Ranking System: Worthwhile? https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/morningstars-ranking-system-worthwhile/ Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:16:20 +0000 /blog/?p=1584 Morningstar debuted its new mutual fund ratings systems this week. Everyone’s known for some time that the company’s widely used star system for ratings doesn’t work to predict future results any better than simply using funds’ expense ratios. Morningstar itself acknowledged the fact that expense ratios are a better predictor of performance. Even after that […]

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]]> Why Investors Should Care About The Fiduciary Standard https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/sec-standard-of-conduct/ Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:21:09 +0000 /blog/?p=1433 Since taking office, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro has repeatedly stated her commitment to raising the standard of conduct that applies to brokers when they give investment advice.  The goal is to ensure that the “financial advisors” employed by brokerages (including Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, […]

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]]> Why Disclosures Don’t Work https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/call-bullshit-disclosures-dont-work/ Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:22:19 +0000 /blog/?p=1401 Last month, in a provocative op-ed in The New York Times, David Swensen, Yale University’s chief investment officer, lashed out at mutual funds. He said, in short, that mutual funds invest poorly and have fees that investors don’t understand, and that some of the brokers and advisors who sell mutual funds use “pointless buying and […]

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]]> 10 Signs of a Bad Investment Advisor, Part II https://www.wealthfront.com/blog/10-signs-bad-investment-advisor-part-ii/ Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:59:57 +0000 /blog/?p=1245 On Wednesday, we ran part one of this list of 10 signs you’re dealing with a bad financial advisor, including #1: The advisor does not focus specifically on investment advice and #2: The advisor does not speak openly about investment returns. This is the second part of our list, items 6-10. To develop this list, […]

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