Investment White Papers
The Colonel Blotto Game:
Transitivity and How to Win When You’re an Underdog
The Colonel Blotto game is not as well known as the prisoner's dilemma, but offers some insights into strategic behavior nonetheless. The game shows why it is often impossible to legitimately crown a best team. Underdogs improve their chances of winning by changing the basis of competition. Successful investment strategies shift, which means even good long-term approaches fail from time to time. »»
Revisiting the Case for Active Investing
The current crisis has challenged a host of established investment analysis methodologies used to identify, measure and allocate risk, including mean reversion, the normal distribution pattern of returns, and the long-term stability of expected correlations. While backward-looking... »»
Thinking About Retirement
Regardless of your interests, the transition to retirement is a major undertaking in terms of wealth planning. First, you may be moving from a period of accumulating earnings to one of spending savings — a shift that requires both psychological and practical adjustments. Second, as you look to the future, you must accurately gauge your priorities and the often competing potential uses for your assets. Third... »»
Untangling Skill and Luck:
How to Think About Outcome - Past, Present and Future
The outcomes for most activities combine skill and luck. Separating skill and luck encourages better thinking about outcomes and allows for sharply improved decision making. There are good methods to sort skill and luck in sports, business, and investing. We define the key features of skill in the investment business. »»
In Search of Yield
In today’s market, building a portfolio that offers attractive income plus capital appreciation potential can be a challenge — but it’s becoming a priority for many who experienced investment losses and high volatility during the credit crisis. Those who turned to the fixed income markets are now faced with historically low interest rates and purchasing power risks for those investments. However, within the equity universe there are a few underutilized sources of yield... »»
Investing (including mutual funds and ETFs) carries risk, including the loss of principal, and there can be no assurance that any investment strategy will provide positive performance over a period of time. The asset classes and /or investment strategies described above may not be suitable for all investors. Investors should first consult with an investment advisor before investing. Investment decisions should be made based on the investor’s specific financial needs and objectives, goals, time horizon, tax liability and risk tolerance. When investing in managed accounts and wrap accounts, there may be additional fees and expenses added onto the fees of the underlying investment products. For a complete description of all fees, costs and expenses, please refer to the sponsor’s ADV Part II or Schedule H as applicable. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Neither Envestnet, PMC nor its representatives render tax, accounting or legal advice.
