valuation

The first step to buying a used car is choosing a vehicle, or at least narrowing your options. Ask yourself: How many passengers do you regularly carry? What sort of trunk or cargo space do you need? What is the minimum gas mileage a car has that will stay within your budget? What would your [...]

During the huge bull, too many of us got too caught up in considering the implications of the first important reality. If stocks offer better returns, then investing in stocks gets you to retirement faster. That really is so and that really is important. But to make investing choices that will work for the long [...]

There are two rules often cited by investors that sound similar but that in fact make very different claims. In this article, I’ll describe the differences between the two rules — the Multiply-by-25 Rule and the 4-Percent Rule.

The Multiply-by-25 Rule
The purpose of The Multiply-by-25 Rule is to tell an investor how much he needs to [...]

A common mistake for a beginning investor is equating low price per share stocks, such as penny stocks, as inexpensive stock price. After all, it feels intuitive that a $1 stock is less expensive than a $10 stock. Unfortunately, this is the wrong way to think. The first thing you need to know about stock [...]

This year, President Obama introduced the Making Home Affordable program to help homeowners to keep their homes by making mortgage payments affordable. The plan affects about 7 to 9 million people, and you can use the self-assessment tools to see if you’re eligible. When you visit the tool, you’ll notice that there are two options: [...]

You probably heard the news that the SEC halted short selling on 799 financial stocks last week. The SEC did this in order to reduce downward pressure on financial stocks, and hopefully, restore price stability and investor confidence. Here’s an excerpt from the SEC web site:
Under normal market conditions, short selling contributes to price efficiency [...]

Asset allocation is an investing a strategy for maximizing gains while minimizing risks in your investment portfolio. It involves diversifying your assets among different broad categories of investments, such as equity, fixed income, and money market, etc.  By reducing your investment risks, you’re in a better position to meet your financial goals.
How Asset Allocation Works
The [...]

In doing your investment research, you may have come across a Tic-Tac-Toe-like box similar to the one below. This box is called the Morningstar Style Box. This particular one came from Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX) profile on Yahoo! Finance.

What Is a Morningstar Style Box?
Morningstar Style Box is a visual tool created by Morningstar, a premier [...]

This is the 6th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]

On March 13, 2008, gold hits $1,000 per ounce for the first time in history, the dollar fell below 100 yen, and crude oil price is setting new records. With the sub par stock market performance over the past few months, it’s hard not to second guess yourself, and dream up all kinds of thoughts:

Should [...]