5
Jan
2026
The History of Market Concentration
We have all noticed that the S&P 500 has become unusually concentrated. What is less obvious is how today compares to earlier eras, simply because the data are harder to find. Bloomberg published a helpful chart over the weekend using the UBS Global Investment Returns 2025 Yearbook (Dimson, Marsh, and Staunton of London Business School), extending back to 1900. Because the series is incomplete before 1925, I anchored the analysis… Read More
15
Dec
2025
One View of a Megatrends-Aware Portfolio
Last week, I outlined the views of Joe Davis, Vanguard’s Chief Economist, who argues in his recent book that the economic and market outlook for the next decade largely hinges on whether AI delivers meaningful productivity gains. In the bull case, AI performs as hoped. Productivity improves, economic growth remains durable, markets benefit, and the US is better able to manage the risks associated with large and growing deficits and… Read More
8
Dec
2025
Will Artificial Intelligence Tinker or Transform?
A few months ago, I read Coming into View: How AI and Other Megatrends Will Shape Your Investments by Joe Davis, Vanguard’s Chief Economist. It’s a thoughtful book that I recommend. It isn’t overly technical, and it frames the biggest questions investors face today: AI, debt and deficits, demographics, potential deglobalization, and—hardest of all to measure—geopolitical risk. The core question Davis keeps returning to is deceptively simple: can AI generate… Read More
17
Nov
2025
International Stocks Gain Some Ground
I’m amazed that the year-to-date return for all of the non-US stocks are up 26.2 percent, and the S&P 500 is ‘only’ up 15.7 percent. It seems like a long time since global stocks have outperformed the S&P 500, so I decided to do some digging. I started with a slightly different index than what I use in the market summary. The summary is all non-US stocks, but for further… Read More
10
Nov
2025
Tools and Trends Change — Curiosity and Continuous Improvement Endure
Last week, I attended Schwab Impact in Denver, Schwab’s annual conference for financial advisors — an amazing spectacle with about 5,500 advisors and another 2,000 exhibitors. I think it was my 22nd time going, and I said last year would be my last because I’d “seen it all before.” My partners suggested I go with some of the younger folks — were they calling me old? Either way, I had… Read More
3
Nov
2025
What Does It Mean to Eat Our Own Cooking?
We often say that we eat our own cooking, and I think everyone understands what we mean: we personally invest in the same strategies and products that we recommend to our clients. As fiduciaries, we’re already required to put our clients’ interests ahead of our own. Technically, I suppose it’s possible to meet that obligation while investing differently ourselves, but it wouldn’t make much sense. What we’re really saying is… Read More
27
Oct
2025
Get Up and Dance
Last week, I wrote about Alan Greenspan’s now-famous phrase, “irrational exuberance,” and made the case that timing the market is, at best, a fool’s errand. Greenspan uttered those words so early in the tech bubble that investors who sold after his warning and sat in cash ended up with roughly the same post-crash results as those who stayed invested through the rise and fall. This week, I found myself thinking… Read More
20
Oct
2025
Irrational Exuberance Revisited
Many people are asking whether we’re in the middle of an AI bubble, and the answer, in my opinion, is probably yes. The much harder question is what to do about it. A recent analysis by Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, calculated that 92 percent of economic growth in the first half of 2025 was related to data-center… Read More
6
Oct
2025
CNBC Recognizes Acropolis
We are pleased to announce that Acropolis Investment Management has been recognized by CNBC as one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the U.S. for 2025—our third consecutive year earning this distinction. This honor reflects not only our commitment to excellence in wealth management and client service but also the collective hard work and dedication of our entire team. Being included in CNBC’s list is more than a badge… Read More
29
Sep
2025
The Fund Performed Fine. Investors, Not So Much
For several years, Morningstar has released its annual Mind the Gap study, which highlights the difference between what a fund returns and the returns investors actually realize. The study underscores a familiar struggle: investors chase performance—jumping into funds after the best gains have passed, or bailing out during a slump only to miss the rebound. The penalty for this behavior is steeper than many realize. Over the 10 years ending… Read More