AnnetteLouisan wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 10:48 am
Any thoughts on viatical settlements and lapse rates in insurance products more broadly? In other words, what percentage of insurance consumers let their coverage lapse before it is needed? My understanding is such percentages are quite high but not widely available. Many folks cannot continue to pay the premia as they age or the product is cancelled if they are hospitalized and cannot make timely payments, which is one reason why automatic payments today are so useful.
On viatical settlements - some folks are able to sell their life insurance policies to a settlement company for an amount greater than the cash surrender value. Most of the folks who sell their policies are in impaired health. The viatical companies “underwrite” the policies they are buying, looking for chances to collect an early death claim.
I don’t have a problem with consumers selling their policies to viatical companies. I’d just encourage them to get multiple bids to make sure they’re receiving a fair price for their policy.
On lapse rates - Those statistics are measured carefully by insurance companies on their own blocks of business - by product, policy size, duration, etc. Nothing except very general statistics are available to the general public.
For life insurance, lapse rates are generally higher in the first policy year or two, and then go down as a policy ages. A lot of folks (especially buyers of permanent insurance) find that the premiums don’t fit into their budgets after the policy has been in force for a short period of time.
Retired life insurance company financial executive who sincerely believes that ”It’s a GREAT day to be alive!”
dcabler wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 4:41 am
Over time, I see fewer BH'ers on the forum who introduce new concepts or ways of looking at things that still work within the Bogleheads framework. An increase in the rehashing of old topics without putting forth new arguments. An overall increase in "noise"....
Still, there are enough nuggets that come along, that I'm sticking around!
Cheers.
That makes sense- as the BH framework is a relatively small sandbox in which to play. That is one of the strengths actually- a very simple, somewhat dogmatic plan to end up with “enough”.
Based on that, there really ISN’T much of a platform for investment discussions, as almost any topic is invariably leading one out of the sandbox and likely onto an inferior path (based on the probability of the desired outcome of having “enough”)
The noise is generally going to be discussions related to an objective other than “having enough” at retirement.
It could also be that a cap weighted, American stock concentrated, aggregate bond heavy portfolio worked well for a time and will not work as well in the future.
My individual stocks are still going strong, especially Microsoft, purchased at $52/share. GE is doing nicely, with shares of GEHC spun out. Next year GE will spin out the aviation holdings.
Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
2retire wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:27 pm
The things I have noticed the most is less pushing for small value and REITs as part of your portfolio.
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy |
4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
AnnetteLouisan wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 10:48 am
Any thoughts on viatical settlements and lapse rates in insurance products more broadly? In other words, what percentage of insurance consumers let their coverage lapse before it is needed? My understanding is such percentages are quite high but not widely available. Many folks cannot continue to pay the premia as they age or the product is cancelled if they are hospitalized and cannot make timely payments, which is one reason why automatic payments today are so useful.
On viatical settlements - some folks are able to sell their life insurance policies to a settlement company for an amount greater than the cash surrender value. Most of the folks who sell their policies are in impaired health. The viatical companies “underwrite” the policies they are buying, looking for chances to collect an early death claim.
I don’t have a problem with consumers selling their policies to viatical companies. I’d just encourage them to get multiple bids to make sure they’re receiving a fair price for their policy.
On lapse rates - Those statistics are measured carefully by insurance companies on their own blocks of business - by product, policy size, duration, etc. Nothing except very general statistics are available to the general public.
For life insurance, lapse rates are generally higher in the first policy year or two, and then go down as a policy ages. A lot of folks (especially buyers of permanent insurance) find that the premiums don’t fit into their budgets after the policy has been in force for a short period of time.
DonIce wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:15 pm
US stocks continue to soar.
Heh, nice... I miss that thread.
I loved the Free Fall thread as well. It was too much fun, which is pretty much frowned upon here. The Bogleheads have gotten to be like a Public Library, informative but not much excitement. Since Larry Swedroe left, the fun-o-meter now registers Dullsville. We used to have more lively debates here, I miss Ferri vs. Swedroe.
Why was free fall thread retired? I just avoided when I wanted!
2retire wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:27 pm
The things I have noticed the most is less pushing for small value and REITs as part of your portfolio.
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
For clarification, is your argument that a boglehead portfolio should have those ( international, small, value, REITs, commodities, etc.) at market weight, but folks have been arguing against that?
2retire wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:27 pm
The things I have noticed the most is less pushing for small value and REITs as part of your portfolio.
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
For clarification, is your argument that a boglehead portfolio should have those ( international, small, value, REITs, commodities, etc.) at market weight, but folks have been arguing against that?
Reasonable people can argue both sides. I'm just saying that Bogleheads performance chase like everyone else. I think you should pick something reasonable and stick with it.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy |
4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
2retire wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:27 pm
The things I have noticed the most is less pushing for small value and REITs as part of your portfolio.
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
For clarification, is your argument that a boglehead portfolio should have those ( international, small, value, REITs, commodities, etc.) at market weight, but folks have been arguing against that?
Reasonable people can argue both sides. I'm just saying that Bogleheads performance chase like everyone else. I think you should pick something reasonable and stick with it.
Bogleheads chase performance or people who post to this forum chase performance? Big difference.
2retire wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:27 pm
The things I have noticed the most is less pushing for small value and REITs as part of your portfolio.
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
For clarification, is your argument that a boglehead portfolio should have those ( international, small, value, REITs, commodities, etc.) at market weight, but folks have been arguing against that?
Reasonable people can argue both sides. I'm just saying that Bogleheads performance chase like everyone else. I think you should pick something reasonable and stick with it.
Bogleheads chase performance or people who post to this forum chase performance? Big difference.
I view them as the same thing. Are you saying there is some other criteria for being a Boglehead other than participating on the forum?
For sure Bogleheads chase performance, but they do it less than most investors. I just think it's important to realize that they do it too.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy |
4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
For clarification, is your argument that a boglehead portfolio should have those ( international, small, value, REITs, commodities, etc.) at market weight, but folks have been arguing against that?
Reasonable people can argue both sides. I'm just saying that Bogleheads performance chase like everyone else. I think you should pick something reasonable and stick with it.
Bogleheads chase performance or people who post to this forum chase performance? Big difference.
I view them as the same thing. Are you saying there is some other criteria for being a Boglehead other than participating on the forum?
For sure Bogleheads chase performance, but they do it less than most investors. I just think it's important to realize that they do it too.
Participating in this forum doesn't make one a Boglehead any more than my participating in a vegan forum to ask about steak-grilling tips would make me a vegan. This forum is supposed to be "Investing Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle." What is Boglehead investing philosophy? I'd probably go to the wiki of this site and the Bogleheads' Guide to Investing book as gold standards. It's not an orthodoxy, but it is categorically different from what you'll hear from Jim Cramer. You'll find all manner of posts here that fall significantly outside of mainstream Boglehead philosophy: stock picking, investing in gold, AAs of 100% of a fund, sector stocks, and market timing of all sorts. Posters will say that it their "personal choice" which it is, but it's not "Investing Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle." If Boglehead philosophy is anything one says it is, then it means nothing.
Bogleheads continue to performance chase. Thus, less talk about international, small, value, REITs, commodities etc. The pendulum will swing back of course, both with market performance and what is acceptable/faddish among Bogleheads.
You missed the whole rush into and back out of I bonds over the last couple of years.
For clarification, is your argument that a boglehead portfolio should have those ( international, small, value, REITs, commodities, etc.) at market weight, but folks have been arguing against that?
Reasonable people can argue both sides. I'm just saying that Bogleheads performance chase like everyone else. I think you should pick something reasonable and stick with it.
Bogleheads chase performance or people who post to this forum chase performance? Big difference.
I view them as the same thing. Are you saying there is some other criteria for being a Boglehead other than participating on the forum?
For sure Bogleheads chase performance, but they do it less than most investors. I just think it's important to realize that they do it too.
The best example is total bond. It’s a bit more difficult with equities as P/E ratios for valuations are not as correlated with returns, but it’s clear that total bond is a way better investment now than 3 years ago
I wouldn't call refinancing a mortgage at a lower rate performance chasing and I wouldn't call selecting a higher paying fixed income performance chasing. I bought I-Bonds before inflation spiked and without any expectation of inflation rising. I sold some of the 0% I-Bonds while purchasing I-Bonds may years ahead at the current 1.3% real rate. I would not consider this performance chasing but rather obtaining better guaranteed returns with the desired amount of fixed income.
If we really think this through it is not the investment that determines performance chasing but rather the rational behind it. If the future return is speculative it is much more likely to be performance chasing than if the return (nominal or real) is known. In the end investing is speculation. I see more complex portfolios often underperforming their target by 0.5% to 1% annually. This is on top of the complex portfolios not achieving the better expected results, whether through returns or variation. There is much to be said for keeping it so simple you can not mess it up when fear or greed get the better of you. It may be the very intelligently conceived and non-market portfolio that was speculating.
In the end we all benefit from the discussion of I-Bonds, SCV, etc. I am glad there are people here willing to disagree backed by their reasoning as that discussion is helpful to everyone making informed decisions.
DonIce wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:15 pm
US stocks continue to soar.
Heh, nice... I miss that thread.
I loved the Free Fall thread as well. It was too much fun, which is pretty much frowned upon here. The Bogleheads have gotten to be like a Public Library, informative but not much excitement. Since Larry Swedroe left, the fun-o-meter now registers Dullsville. We used to have more lively debates here, I miss Ferri vs. Swedroe.
Why was free fall thread retired? I just avoided when I wanted!
It was deemed not actionable I believe.
I miss both of those threads as well. In addition to occasionally reading through when the market was highly active for fun - it was a good collection place for some market timers or those considering market timing (now we have new threads spin up instead sometimes instead of having those discussions in those master threads).
DonIce wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:15 pm
US stocks continue to soar.
Heh, nice... I miss that thread.
I loved the Free Fall thread as well. It was too much fun, which is pretty much frowned upon here. The Bogleheads have gotten to be like a Public Library, informative but not much excitement. Since Larry Swedroe left, the fun-o-meter now registers Dullsville. We used to have more lively debates here, I miss Ferri vs. Swedroe.
Why was free fall thread retired? I just avoided when I wanted!
It was deemed not actionable I believe.
I miss both of those threads as well. In addition to occasionally reading through when the market was highly active for fun - it was a good collection place for some market timers or those considering market timing (now we have new threads spin up instead sometimes instead of having those discussions in those master threads).
The absolute BEST thing about those threads was the history.
You could go back, see someone post in 2014 (or whenever) that "This 10% drop is just the beginning. This metric or signal shows that we are almost certainly going to crash back 40% before it gets better. I'm getting out the market, and you all should too!".
And then, of course, it wouldn't happen.
I mean there were DOZENS, maybe even a hundred examples in those two threads alone that "Nobody knows enough to predict the future"
"The best tools available to us are shovels, not scalpels. Don't get carried away." - vanBogle59
retiredjg wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 4:49 pm
6. Biggest change for me personally....it is possible to have too much in tax-deferred accounts. Ten years ago, I would have thought this was not possible and that one should use all the tax-deferred space that could be found. I no longer think that.
Ditto.
After decades of maxing 401k contributions, I now contribute only enough to get the full employer match.
We contribute far more to taxable.
How do you decide when to switch?
I looked at what my RMDs will look like if I continued maxing my pretax 401k contributions and what tax bracket I will be at. I ran an estimated return over the years. Long story short I am now splitting my 401k between Roth and traditional.
windaar wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 1:11 pm
If Boglehead philosophy is anything one says it is, then it means nothing.
We're tangenting pretty hard here but it's fun so let's keep going.
The problem comes down to how broad the house of Bogle gets to be. I've heard Bogleheads here say that if you invest in anything but a three fund portfolio, you're not a real boglehead. Well that's ridiculous. Even the greatest advocate ever of the three fund portfolio (Taylor Larimore) would not insist that is the only true boglehead way to invest, much less Jack Bogle.
Jack himself advocated at times for a small amount of tactical asset allocation, something most Bogleheads would describe as market timing.
I think the Boglehead tent is larger than many Bogleheads would say it is.
You mention Gold. I think it's fine to put 5 or 10% of your portfolio into gold if you really want. I don't invest in it. I agree with Jack's view on it:
But I wouldn't say someone that put 70% of their money into index funds, 20% into some investment properties, and 10% into Gold couldn't be a Boglehead and shouldn't read the forum or come to the conference.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy |
4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
White Coat Investor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 3:05 pmBut I wouldn't say someone that put 70% of their money into index funds, 20% into some investment properties, and 10% into Gold couldn't be a Boglehead and shouldn't read the forum or come to the conference.
I agree. Read the forum fine. My concern is when posters are way outside the guardrails and may be influencing newbies who come here for BH wisdom. Read for a while here and you'll see posters bragging about how much they made with a single stock (there's one out there right now about MSFT), you'll see the gasping posts of investors selling at the bottom of a correction instead of staying the course, you'll see posters advocating and recommending risky AAs not suitable for most; you'll see people asking about how to market time and getting answers.
White Coat Investor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 3:05 pmBut I wouldn't say someone that put 70% of their money into index funds, 20% into some investment properties, and 10% into Gold couldn't be a Boglehead and shouldn't read the forum or come to the conference.
I agree. Read the forum fine. My concern is when posters are way outside the guardrails and may be influencing newbies who come here for BH wisdom. Read for a while here and you'll see posters bragging about how much they made with a single stock (there's one out there right now about MSFT), you'll see the gasping posts of investors selling at the bottom of a correction instead of staying the course, you'll see posters advocating and recommending risky AAs not suitable for most; you'll see people asking about how to market time and getting answers.
I honestly don't know the specific posts you allude to, but generally people here recommend divesting large concentrations of single stocks and maybe cutting it down to about 5%. Also, although there are a reasonable amount of people having 100% equities, I rarely see them recommending it for others. Usually those posts with very high equity or very high bond allocations get several responses on the risks of such allocations. I'm sure there are outliers but I bet it is a rarity.
White Coat Investor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 3:05 pmBut I wouldn't say someone that put 70% of their money into index funds, 20% into some investment properties, and 10% into Gold couldn't be a Boglehead and shouldn't read the forum or come to the conference.
I agree. Read the forum fine. My concern is when posters are way outside the guardrails and may be influencing newbies who come here for BH wisdom. Read for a while here and you'll see posters bragging about how much they made with a single stock (there's one out there right now about MSFT), you'll see the gasping posts of investors selling at the bottom of a correction instead of staying the course, you'll see posters advocating and recommending risky AAs not suitable for most; you'll see people asking about how to market time and getting answers.
I honestly don't know the specific posts you allude to, but generally people here recommend divesting large concentrations of single stocks and maybe cutting it down to about 5%. Also, although there are a reasonable amount of people having 100% equities, I rarely see them recommending it for others [emphasis added] Usually those posts with very high equity or very high bond allocations get several responses on the risks of such allocations. I'm sure there are outliers but I bet it is a rarity.
I often see posters recommending 100% stocks for other, often with no information about the other's risk tolerance other than their age.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein |
Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
My real first name is Wayne. So you can call me that too.
(Truth be told, DW doesn’t like my nickname “Stinky” too much either. Seems to raise unpleasant images for her )
You can change your username and all of your previous posts will display the new username. Just let us know if you'd like to change it. And folks would still recognize your posts from your logo.
My real first name is Wayne. So you can call me that too.
(Truth be told, DW doesn’t like my nickname “Stinky” too much either. Seems to raise unpleasant images for her )
You can change your username and all of your previous posts will display the new username. Just let us know if you'd like to change it. And folks would still recognize your posts from your logo.
Please don’t change it. We all know him by that name. Stinky, no offense intended.
My real first name is Wayne. So you can call me that too.
(Truth be told, DW doesn’t like my nickname “Stinky” too much either. Seems to raise unpleasant images for her )
You can change your username and all of your previous posts will display the new username. Just let us know if you'd like to change it. And folks would still recognize your posts from your logo.
Please don’t change it. We all know him by that name. Stinky, no offense intended.
No offense taken.
I’ve carried that nickname since I was a child. I’ll keep it for a while longer.
Retired life insurance company financial executive who sincerely believes that ”It’s a GREAT day to be alive!”
The ACA marketplace is now a viable way for early retirees and self employed people to get health insurance. Hence, lots of “which plan is best” discussions this time every year.
My real first name is Wayne. So you can call me that too.
(Truth be told, DW doesn’t like my nickname “Stinky” too much either. Seems to raise unpleasant images for her )
You can change your username and all of your previous posts will display the new username. Just let us know if you'd like to change it. And folks would still recognize your posts from your logo.
Please don’t change it. We all know him by that name. Stinky, no offense intended.
No offense taken.
I’ve carried that nickname since I was a child. I’ll keep it for a while longer.
My real first name is Wayne. So you can call me that too.
(Truth be told, DW doesn’t like my nickname “Stinky” too much either. Seems to raise unpleasant images for her )
You can change your username and all of your previous posts will display the new username. Just let us know if you'd like to change it. And folks would still recognize your posts from your logo.
Please don’t change it. We all know him by that name. Stinky, no offense intended.
No offense taken.
I’ve carried that nickname since I was a child. I’ll keep it for a while longer.
Good story?
I want to hear the story. Did it involve beans, by chance?
Well, Mr. Bogle's basic principles have held solid and perhaps even ratted out many "get rich scams" as those principles have stood the test of time.
Boglehead stereotype (if there was ever one) has expanded and now includes many more followers. Sure, they may not all be driving a used Corolla, they still do save for retirement and invest in the 3 fund portfolio.
Basically, Bogle philosophy of the 3 fund portfolio has grown to be a fantastic success!!
nisiprius wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 7:05 pm
I think there is a widespread feeling in this forum that at Vanguard, under Mortimer Buckley, things ain't what they used to be. There is unease about stumbles in IT and customer service. William J. Bernstein, in the just-out second edition of The Four Pillars of Investing, has written:
The quality gap between the Vanguard Group and the rest of the investing industry is largely gone. As an admirer of the late John Bogle, it pains me to admit that customer support at Vanguard has deteriorated, with not infrequent clerical errors and extended phone hold times, in contrast to the generally fast, knowledgeable, and accurate support at other firms.
There have always been discussions of the pros and cons of other brokerages, but of late I would say that there is a steady stream of posts about moving to other brokerages.
I have defended Vanguard for years -- "who needs all that support? I'd rather not pay for it!" and so on. But now, even as a Flagship member, I've lost my dedicated phone line to Flagship support ... fine, no worries ... at least I can message them when logged in. Nope, not even that now. I don't even want to be treated as special as a Flagship member, but some kind of web-based support feels essential to everyone. It allows them to take their time getting back to you, and you to send off queries when you have time. Works better for everyone.
"In the absence of clarity, diversification is the only logical strategy" -= Larry Swedroe
OG stands for “original gangster.” But it does mean more or less old school or old guard. It’s positive. Gangster was an adjective at one point. It’s not calling anyone criminal. It kind of means original cool or the epitome.
I had no idea it could be “old gangster”.
Try the song, “Something for the OGs,” by MC Hammer. In which the protagonist tells how he succeeded in music through hard work and determination, and pays tribute to his friends from his old neighborhood, “who are still alive.” Poignant.
I listen tothe old farts station.
The Lawrence Welk Show....celebrating 50 years on television...remember the bubbles introduction?
YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FaD1HFJrKs
First aired in 1951
enjoy the memories:
Wasn't it around this time that Vanguard introduced the "Vanguard Balanced Index Fund"? No. 1992.
Wellington fund....1929
j
dekecarver wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 5:18 am
Seems like the number of requests for portfolio reviews and the depth of feedback has tapered off over the years.
Not as much back-testing chatter?
Yes.
Fortunately, there are some great senior portfolio reviewers still helping those in need; Ducky, 123, retiredjg, and many more.
Many forum seniors help in their areas of professional expertise. IE: for law; bsteiner, lee, glawdog, and others.
quantAndHold wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 9:00 pm
The ACA marketplace is now a viable way for early retirees and self employed people to get health insurance. Hence, lots of “which plan is best” discussions this time every year.
Followed by the December posts asking why the NAV of their favorite fund suddenly dropped....
srt7 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 1:22 am
Well, Mr. Bogle's basic principles have held solid and perhaps even ratted out many "get rich scams" as those principles have stood the test of time.
Boglehead stereotype (if there was ever one) has expanded and now includes many more followers. Sure, they may not all be driving a used Corolla, they still do save for retirement and invest in the 3 fund portfolio.
Basically, Bogle philosophy of the 3 fund portfolio has grown to be a fantastic success!!
The 3 fund portfolio is not the bogleheads philosophy. It is but one portfolio implementation of the bogleheads philosophy, but it's not the only one possible.
Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 9:20 am
Is 100% stocks REALLY 100% stocks if you have a big (fixed income) pension?
Is 100% stocks REALLY 100% stocks if you have a large amount of human capital?
Using that logic, why save anything, ever?
Are you trolling?
Because you won’t always have a lot of human capital
Check my history. I've never trolled. I'm making a point. That having a big pension or even Social Security effectively acts like a fixed income part of your portfolio. These don't go away (under normal circumstances). Human capital can go away at any time. And is generally a depreciating asset at best. In my humble (and often wrong!) opinion, human capital is not fixed income in the way that a pension is.
EDIT: As I was posting this, LadyGeek asked that we stay on topic. So let's get back to "what's changed" in the last 10 years. The discussion of pensions and human capital as fixed income substitutes or not is perhaps for another discussion.
Fixmen wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:00 pm
I used to read this forum pretty religiously but stopped after I'd gone in fully on a Boglehead investment strategy. I just don't fiddle my investment strategy much anymore so don't spend as much time reading about investing.
Anyway, my question is: What has changed in the boglehead philosophy (or implementation) in the last 5- 10 years since I stopped tracking this stuff as closely?
I know there's a bunch of stuff that's timeless in the Boglehead philosophy, but things do change over time (e.g Vanguard popularizing index funds, ETFs slowly replacing mutual funds, online brokers becoming near zero fee and basically identical). At one point, I thought Robo-advisors were going to become a huge part of the market but that doesn't seem to have panned out. Less on the implementation side, but I suspect that people are now a little less complacent about inflation than they were 3 years ago.
Since it hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread, we would like to add one thing in terms of what has changed over the last 10 years. The advent of the Bogleheads University at the conference that began in 2022, and was followed up at this year's conference in an expanded format has led to the University presentations being available here at Bogleheads for all to learn and enjoy. Although an extension of the greater site and philosophy known as Bogleheads, we champion the addition of the Bogleheads University - both attending live, as well as viewing/reading for everyone else who is unable to attend the conference. Continued kudos to all those involved who made it possible. It has been a wonderful addition!
abc132 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 1:45 pm
I would not consider this performance chasing but rather obtaining better guaranteed returns with the desired amount of fixed income.
If we really think this through it is not the investment that determines performance chasing but rather the rational behind it. If the future return is speculative it is much more likely to be performance chasing than if the return (nominal or real) is known.
abc, I'm just thinking out loud here but isn't choosing to "lock in" guaranteed returns just another type of bet that other asset classes such as equities WON'T do better than that locked-in rate? In other words, by deviating from your desired long-term asset allocation aren't you, in fact, performance chasing in a way?
)
