In reaction to my recent Rutherford Review post (https://itawealth.com/rutherford-portfolio-review-tranche-5-21-january-2022/ ) John Shelton commented and asked the following questions: "Thx for the very gloomy report. From a psychological perspective, what influence do these trend parameters have on the BHS buy and sell plans? Those of us who study such things know that the Recency Bias … [Read More...]
Portfolio Construction: The Essential Decisions
William J. Bernstein, in his most recent book, “The Investor’s Manifesto” writes, “Before diving into the most important issue faced by any investor–the asset allocation decision–you will need to understand four things: save as much as you can, make … [Read more]
Retirement Planning Mistake #1
Mistake number one in my book is failure to save or to not follow The Golden Rule of Investing. Open up a spreadsheet and run your own calculations for the following classic comparison. As a nineteen year old you have the foresight and financial … [Read more]
Music Recommendations for Week of October 20, 2013
The music recommendation is quite different this week. Instead of a single CD, what you see below is a playlist of music recommended by members of a small group who will gather at our house this evening to share favorite pieces of music. Each … [Read more]
Ennio Morricone: Two Music Recommendations
Ennio Morricone is the featured composer this week. One CD I highly recommend is the soundtrack music from "We All Love Ennio Morricone." All cuts are not equally good so be prepared for an uneven collection of music. "Once Upon A Time In The … [Read more]
Advisors Do Not Add Alpha
ITA Wealth Management is all about learning to manage your own portfolio instead of hiring a professional money manager. Here is added evidence that consultants and advisors are not adding alpha to some of the most recognized … [Read more]
Great Operatic Choruses
If you enjoy majestic choral work conducted by Robert Shaw, this CD is for you. Grand and Glorious: Great Operatic Choruses is one fine collection. I am partial to the Pilgrim's Chorus, Chorus of Hebrew Slaves, Prisoner's Chorus, and the selection … [Read more]
Top Twenty-Five Classical Composers
Top Classical Music Composers When I first started to make a list of of my favorite classical composers, the idea was to limit it to the Top Ten. I found that to be impossible so I expanded it to 25. Even then, several of my favorites did not make … [Read more]
Correlation Matrix of Critical ETFs
As requested in a comment, here is the correlation matrix of critical ETFs used in nearly all the ITA portfolios. I cut the time frame to 23 months of data so VSS and VNQI did not show up with "short-term" data errors. Identical percentages were … [Read more]