As we get ready to turn the page on 2023 and welcome the new year with all its possibilities, we’d like to take some time to reflect on the year that was—the notable events, trends, and developments that defined our economics, policy, business, and culture—and look a bit into the future to see what 2024 might bring. 2023 in Review Economy & Markets The economic picture in 2023 continued to be dominated by...

DIMENSIONAL’S MARKET REVIEW (Q4 2021 & TY 2021) It’s a wrap! 2021 market performance numbers are now available for the fourth quarter and the total year. Today, we share Dimensional Fund Advisor’s latest Quarterly Market Review, along with their 2021 Annual Market Review. “KEY TAKEAWAYS   Stock markets continued to climb higher in 2021, with the S&P 500 hitting a series of all-time closing highs and ending the year near a record. While COVID-19 continued to dominate...

DIMENSIONAL’S QUARTERLY MARKET REVIEW (Q4 2020 & TY 2020) It’s a wrap. 2020 market performance numbers are now available for the fourth quarter and the total year. Today, we share Dimensional Fund Advisor’s latest Quarterly Market Review, along with its 2020 Annual Market Review. “The year 2020 proved to be one of the most tumultuous in modern history, marked by a number of developments that were historically unprecedented. But the year also...

DIMENSIONAL’S QUARTERLY MARKET REVIEW (Q4 2019 & TY 2019) It’s a wrap! 2019 market performance numbers are now available for the fourth quarter and the year. Today, we share Dimensional Fund Advisor’s latest Quarterly Market Review, along with its 2019 Annual Market Review. Fourth quarter 2019 served up another solid reminder: There’s still no telling exactly how breaking news is going to impact upcoming market returns. After all, there was plenty of ongoing, unsettling news to stomach...

What’s your favorite mixed nut? In a bowl of mixed nuts, which flavor do you favor? For the record, I’m a sucker for the cashews. It’s fine to pick out your treat preferences. In the market, you’re best off skipping the picking, and sticking instead with an appropriately balanced mixed bag. This quarter’s up-and-down returns continue to show us why. Whether we view the market by quarter, year or more, we’ll always see...

Small Changes Add Up Small changes, beginning today, can materially affect our future wealth; they can also dramatically impact our future selves. This article by Nick Maggiulli includes a powerful visualization of the cumulative effect on future wealth of saving 5% to 15% of our income each year. (Example assumed $50,000 in annual income with a 5% annual return.) Consider also how creating a habit that may not cost us...

Today we share a series of charts on trade deficits.   Reminder: These charts come to us compliments of independent economist Fritz Meyer, a seasoned economic and markets analyst whose insights appear regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and the Fox Business Network.  Here is what Fritz has to say about trade deficits: … A trade deficit isn’t a debt that must be repaid. It is often a sign of economic prosperity. … It means...

We don’t know when the Fed might begin to increase short-term interest rates. We don’t know by how much, nor how rapidly it might occur. Come what may, you can best protect your own financial interests in the face of rising interest rates by understanding how the Federal Reserve’s actions interplays with the rest of our global capital economy. In our last post, we looked at the connections between short-term...

Part One: Savings & Debt Similar to that saying about the weather, it seems everyone has been talking about the likelihood of rising interest rates, but nobody seems to be doing anything about it. Are interest rates going to go up soon? When? How much? These questions pale in comparison to what most investors really want to know: How will rising rates affect me (and can I do anything about it)? If...

We can’t help but love working with a fund manager that is not only intensely loyal to the science of capital markets, but can laugh about it too. These qualities are combined in Dimensional Fund Advisors’ 2013 Review, a market/economic summary that the firm releases each January. While “a lot happened” in 2013, Dimensional reports it was ultimately “a year about nothing.” In a way, it was like the reverse...