Author Archives: Mark Hebner

The Paradox of Skill

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Mark Hebner

November 10, 2011 The Paradox of Skill Brad Steiman Director and Head of Canadian Financial Advisor Services and Vice President of Dimensional Fund Advisors   In What’s the Significance, we addressed the importance of considering statistical significance when drawing conclusions from … Continue reading →

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Two Contrasting Views of Stock Markets

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Mark Hebner

“The casino view sees the stock market as largely a place where investors place bets on the near future prices of stocks rather than on the numbers on a roulette wheel or the spots on a pack of cards. The … Continue reading →

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When Risk Is Sovereign II

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Mark Hebner

Jim Parker Vice President Dimensional Fund Advisors   Standard & Poor’s recent credit rating downgrade of nine Eurozone nations may have been treated as a big deal by the media, but for financial markets, the “news” was already in the … Continue reading →

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Year-End Review

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Mark Hebner

Weston Wellington Dimensional Fund Advisors Equity investors around the world had a disappointing year in 2011 as thirty-seven out of forty-five markets tracked by MSCI posted negative returns. The US did well on a relative basis and was the only … Continue reading →

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Financial Advice: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Mark Hebner

Dan Solin As the New Year starts, you may be considering a change in your investing strategy.  There are so many purveyors of financial advice that it can be confusing to separate fact from fiction.  Here are my choices for … Continue reading →

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2011 Review: Economy and Markets

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Mark Hebner

Bryan Harris Dimensional Fund Advisors Senior Editor The past year reminded investors that they should hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and be thankful when reality does not match their fears. Investors entered 2011 with hopes that the … Continue reading →

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The Myth of Fund Ratings

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Mark Hebner

By Vivek V. July 26, 2005 “And that’s how we rate mutual funds. Any questions?” the teacher asked. My hand shot up immediately. I had been recently hired by a popular investment rating company. While undergoing their training process, I … Continue reading →

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Morningstar Nominees for Manager of the Year 2011

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Mark Hebner

Click on the image below to enlarge it.  Note that there is only a 5% chance of getting a t-stat of 2 or more if the manager’s outperformance of the benchmark is really zero (no alpha), or said another way, … Continue reading →

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Moral Hazard

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Mark Hebner

by Dan Wheeler I was writing about speculation vs. investing last night, but I paused to watch a few minutes of Jon Corzine’s testimony before a Senate Committee investigating the disappearance of $1.2 billion of clients’ money at MF Global. As … Continue reading →

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What Does a Winning Streak Tell Us?

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Mark Hebner

Weston Wellington Bill Miller is one of the most closely watched money managers in the industry, so it was big news when he announced his decision last week to step down as portfolio manager of Legg Mason Capital Management Value … Continue reading →

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