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9 Reasons Why Dimensional Fund Advisors and Vanguard is Smart Investing

February 25, 2019 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

9 Reasons Why Dimensional Fund Advisors and Vanguard is Smart Investing

What is smart investing? In a nutshell: take cutting-edge financial science and apply it to real world investing. The best mutual fund companies that apply this intelligent, evidence-based strategy are Dimensional Fund Advisors and Vanguard. While many people have heard of Vanguard, Dimensional Fund Advisors ("Dimensional" or "DFA" for short) tends to fly under the radar for most investors. Maybe it’s the firm’s laser-like focus and steadfast approach to applying academic research into the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Finance, Investments, Uncategorized Tagged With: dfa, dimensional, dimensional fund advisors, evidence-based investing

2018 Year in Review: Market Volatility Happens

January 15, 2019 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

2018 Year in Review: Market Volatility Happens

If there’s one thing Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) is unlikely to ever be accused of, it’s having a flair for the dramatic. Then again, that’s why we find their objective insights so appealing, such as this lead-in to their recently released 2018 Market Review: After logging strong returns in 2017, global equity markets delivered negative returns in US dollar terms in 2018. – Dimensional Fund Advisors 2018 Market Review In under 20 words, DFA offers us a marvelously compact context for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Finance, Investments, Personal Finance Tagged With: building wealth, evidence-based investing, Investments, market overview, Market Returns, Market Volatility, Stock Market Returns, year in review

2017 Year in Review: A Surprisingly Robust Year in the Stock Market

January 23, 2018 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

2017 Year in Review: A Surprisingly Robust Year in the Stock Market

With 2017 in the rearview mirror, we’re pleased to reflect on – and share with you – a newly released Dimensional Fund Advisors 2017 Market Review. Overall, the view is quite pleasant for most global and domestic returns alike, even though few financial forecasters were predicting this sort of slam dunk at the outset of the year. If you think back to last January, there were plenty of reasons to wonder about the next 12 months – what with Brexit uncertainties, U.S. election upsets, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Investments Tagged With: building wealth, evidence-based investing, Investments, market overview, year in review

2016 Year in Review: Oh what a difference a year can make!

January 31, 2017 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

2016 Year in Review: Oh what a difference a year can make!

When comparing Dimensional Fund Advisors’ recent 2016 Market Review with the 2015 edition I shared a year ago, I’m afraid you won’t need my mad professional skills to spot some of the differences between them. In fact, I think my 8-year-old daughter could point them out. To be blunt, most of 2015’s annual returns stunk – a lot – with small-company and value company stocks as the worst offenders. The first few weeks of 2016 didn’t look very promising, either. It turned out to be poor start to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Investments Tagged With: building wealth, evidence-based investing, investing, Investments, market overview, year in review

Why the S&P 500 is a Bad Benchmark for Your Investments

January 10, 2017 by Greg Brown 2 Comments

Why the S&P 500 is a Bad Benchmark for Your Investments

  Imagine you are going to buy a house. How do you start the planning process? Do you look at everyone around you who is purchasing a home and do exactly what they do? Do you buy one at the same price point, the same size, in the same area, with the same mortgage company? Well, you could, but that would be pretty stupid. No. You would first determine how much you could afford to pay monthly, investigate how much equity you currently have, research what neighborhood you want to live … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, Finance, Investments, Personal Finance Tagged With: building wealth, evidence-based investing, investing, investment philosophy, investment strategy, Personal finance

How Will the Market and Your Money Behave in an Election Year?

July 26, 2016 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

How Will the Market and Your Money Behave in an Election Year?

“Let’s say it clearly: No one knows where the market is going — experts or novices, soothsayers or astrologers. That’s the simple truth."— Fortune “So Greg, where do you think the market is headed?” This is a question I get asked often. I get it from friends, family, people I know well, and new people I meet when I tell them what I do for a living. If only we knew the answer to this question. Wouldn’t life be so beautiful and comfortable if we could predict these kinds of things? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, Finance, Investments, Personal Finance Tagged With: building wealth, evidence-based investing, investing, investment philosophy

2015 Year in Review: Stormy Seas for Wealth Building Investors

February 2, 2016 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

2015 Year in Review: Stormy Seas for Wealth Building Investors

As the name implies (with the subtlety of a sledge hammer), evidence-based investing means viewing capital markets from the perspective of a professor of finance. We use the science of investing as our guide to building wealth. Instead of fixating on what seems to be working lately or is predicted to work well soon, we turn to decades of peer-reviewed, academic inquiry: Which factors have contributed to higher returns over time and across multiple markets? Which are supported by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Investments Tagged With: building wealth, evidence-based investing, investing, Investments, market overview, year in review

Can you predict a good time to buy and sell stocks?

November 9, 2015 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

Can you predict a good time to buy and sell stocks?

Buying and selling stocks would be much easier if only there were an investment indicator that was dependable. One indicator in particular has lured many investors into its seemingly sound logic. Mean reversion. This is a fancy term for a historical observation that good market climates tend to follow bad … and vice-versa. Or, put simply, what goes up must come down. Looking back on market history, we see evidence of mean reversion. The "tech wreck" of 2000 to 2002: skyrocketing stock values … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Investment Plan Tagged With: evidence-based investing, investment philosophy, investment strategy, stocks

Dimensional Fund Advisors Culture Gets an “A” Grade from Morningstar

October 13, 2015 by Greg Brown 2 Comments

Dimensional Fund Advisors Culture Gets an “A” Grade from Morningstar

Given our disciplined, tortoise vs. hare investment strategy, it’s not often I get the opportunity to say, “I told you so.” I’m not much better off at home, where my brilliant family seems to always be one step ahead of me. Well, today’s my lucky day, based on a recent Morningstar Stewardship report card that gave Dimensional Fund Advisors an “A” grade. In March 2014, we were bewildered when Morningstar lauded Dimensional’s “many positive traits” … but then gave it a B for corporate culture. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Investments Tagged With: evidence-based investing, investment philosophy, investment strategy

Market Turmoil and the Importance of a Sound Investment Philosophy

August 26, 2015 by Greg Brown Leave a Comment

Market Turmoil and the Importance of a Sound Investment Philosophy

Feeling distressed by the market tumult over the past week? On Monday, August 24th, 2015, the Dow Jones fell more than 1,000 points in early trading. A market meltdown of that magnitude can put your investment plan to the ultimate test. To put the current manic behavior of the market in perspective, it helps to look at history as a guide. What was the investment climate like at year-end 2011? If you don’t remember, you are in good company. In his January 2012 year-end review, Wes Wellington … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Building wealth, Choosing a financial advisor, DFA, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Investments Tagged With: Behavioral Finance, evidence-based investing, investment philosophy, investment strategy, passive investing

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About Greg Brown, CFP®

Greg-Brown-Pathway-FInancial-Planning

Your own expert advisor

Pathway founder Greg Brown is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional and Fee-Only financial advisor. Greg’s financial advice has been featured in publications like Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Investopedia (all articles here), CNBC, and Bankrate. 

He holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan State University. Prior to Pathway, Greg was a lead analyst at investment research firm Morningstar and previously held engineering roles at Dell (including a US Patent).

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