stock market Archives - Acropolis Investment Management

11 Nov 2024

Morningstar Makes Things Right?

In June, I wrote that the S&P 500 had become a growth index by Morningstar’s definition (you can refresh your memory here). I like Morningstar, especially its stock analysis, but it confuses investors by oversimplifying complex topics. While that is a laudable goal (and I try to do the same thing), they go too far. Well, Morningstar saw the problem that the investment community could see and changed their rules!… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Investing, Large Cap Stocks, Markets, stock market, Stocks, Style Drift, Volatility, Wall Street

14 Oct 2024

The Hottest Stocks of All Time

An Arizona State professor, Hendrik Bessembinder, wrote a fascinating paper detailing something that we intuitively sense: a small handful of stocks have created almost all of the wealth over time, and most stocks don’t provide much in the way of returns. It’s one of the reasons we want hot tips (even when we know they aren’t likely to be hot). The paper’s provocative title is “Do stocks outperform Treasury bills?”… Read More

By David Ott Tags: commentary, Diversification, Economy, stock market, Stocks, Volatility, Wall Street

17 Jun 2024

Is the S&P 500 a Growth Index?

In addition to working with private clients, Acropolis has an incredible team of professionals who manage retirement plans, principally 401k plans (click here for more information). I meet with some of the retirement plan trustees to discuss the plan’s investments. When we manage a plan, we want enough choices so participants can build a diversified portfolio but not so many choices that they are overwhelmed by the options and don’t… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Economy, Growth Stocks, Investing, Markets, stock market, Stocks, Value Investing, Volatility, Wall Street

28 May 2024

The Anxiety of Private Markets

I’m writing about private markets again, which may seem odd to long-time readers because we don’t invest in private markets. I routinely think about private investments for two reasons. First, they’re the hottest topic in our industry—what are you doing about privates? Have you heard of this private or that private? Second, as I’ve said many times, I’ve invested in some to learn more about them and see if they… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Alternative Investments, commentary, Economy, Investing, Markets, Private Equity, stock market, Volatility, Wall Street

20 May 2024

Dow Jones Rocks 40,000

When I entered the investment industry upon graduating from college in 1995, the market was hitting all-new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which everyone seemed to pay attention to, had just broken through 4,000 and would hit 5,000 by the end of the year. When the DJIA crossed 10,000 for the first time in 1999, there were tons of photos of traders on the floor of the NYSE… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Economy, Investing, Markets, stock market, Stocks, Wall Street

15 Apr 2024

Why Are Markets Unhappy Right Now?

As noted above, the March Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data exceeded expectations. The year-over-year headline rate was expected to be 3.4 percent but was actually 3.5 percent. The core rate, which excludes food and energy, was expected to be 3.7 percent but was 3.8 percent. Those might not sound like big misses at one-tenth of one percent, but the chart below helps tell the story. The chart shows the… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Economy, Inflation, Interest Rates, Investing, Markets, stock market, Stocks, Wall Street

26 Feb 2024

Japan: The Taylor Swift of Stock Markets?

People often tell me not to worry about the stock market because it ‘always’ comes back. That’s true for the United States and most other developed markets, but for my whole career, it wasn’t true for the Japanese stock market, until now. Last week, the Nikkei 225 price-index crossed a level that it hadn’t seen since 1989. That’s a long, long time. I Googled the most famous person born in… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Diversification, Economy, International Investing, Japan, stock market, Stocks, Volatility, Wall Street

22 Jan 2024

S&P 500 Enjoys Record (Close Back in December)

Woot Woot! We can surely celebrate that the S&P 500 is back at record levels as of last Friday. I updated a few charts (below), and noticed something interesting – actual investors in the S&P 500 were back in the money in mid-December thanks to dividends. I am celebrating as much as the next guy about the price improvement, but dividends are part of the equation, but they are often… Read More

By David Ott Tags: Bear Markets, Dividends, Economy, Investing, Markets, stock market, Stocks, Wall Street

27 Nov 2023

Fooling Yourself with Private Market Math

Private investments, or simply ‘privates’ in the current vernacular, are among the hottest investments in recent years. Private investments, which are often considered one of the most prominent alternative investments, means owning securities that aren’t publicly traded. Private markets can include equity (stocks), credit (bonds), and real estate. Each major group has subcategories. Private equity can be venture capital, buyout equity, or growth equity. Credit can mean direct loans, mezzanine… Read More

By David Ott Tags: commentary, Diversification, Economy, Investing, Markets, Portfolio Strategy, Private Equity, Private Investment, stock market, Volatility, Wall Street

13 Nov 2023

30 Market Timing Signals that Worked

My subject line is taken from an article written by the PhD Head of Investment Research at Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), but I cheated and left out the second half of the sentence. Here’s their full headline: We Found 30 Timing Strategies that “Worked” and 690 that Didn’t. I guess I’m not above clickbait, but I also don’t have enough space to get the full headline into the subject line…. Read More

By David Ott Tags: Economy, Investing, Markets, Portfolio Strategy, stock market, Volatility, Wall Street

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