The Best of 2014
As we prepare this edition of the Digest, we’re hoping that you had a great end to 2014 and celebrated the start to 2015 with your close family and friends.The end of one year and the beginning of another is a great time to reflect. As we reviewed the Digest posts of the year just ended, we were intrigued by what resonated with people the most and decided to share with you the top five posts from 2014 in each category in order of popularity.
Top Five “Economy and Investing” Posts:
1) January 29, 2014
Video: The Wisdom of Crowds
We conducted an experiment testing the “wisdom of crowds”, the proposition that, in many situations, the collective wisdom of a group will surpass that of even its smartest individual members.
2) October 15, 2014
Ignore the Headlines
Dave shares a few thoughts on the current state of the world as the ebb and flow of daily crises seem to have surged past some invisible threshold that leaves us feeling off balance and scrambling for a firm place to stand.
3) January 16, 2014
A Different Dimension
Nobelist Gene Fama and Dimensional Fund Advisors have drawn favorable attention lately with both a cover feature in Barron’s and an appreciation in Morningstar.
4) July 2, 2014
How to Pick Hot Stocks: Secrets of a Stock Picker
The dream of “beating the market” has persisted for as long as there have been markets to beat.
5) April 9, 2014
Flash Boys and Flashy Headlines
Dave’s take on Michael Lewis’s new book, “Flash Boys”, which focuses on high-frequency trading (HFT), the theory that smart technologists have figured out ways to legally “front run” other investors, driving up their cost of buying shares.
Top Five “Financial Planning” Posts:
1) April 24, 2014
Expert Spotlight: Jim McCabe on How to Age Well
Jim McCabe recently took some time to reflect on many of the families he has worked with over the years and the challenges they have faced together.
2) July 17, 2014
Ask Elissa and Dave Column
Share your curiosity with Elissa and Dave and receive an answer to the questions you’ve always wanted to ask.
3) July 17, 2014
Millennials, Don’t Let Mayhem Get the Best of You
If you’re a member of the millennial generation, or you know a millennial, we want to talk to you about why young people need liability insurance.
4) October 9, 2014
Spare Your Heirs the Drama: Lessons from Robin Williams’ Estate Plan
We feel there are some key lessons to be learned from Robin Williams’ estate plan – have estate documents to make your wishes known, determine your privacy preference, and be aware of the potential gaps.
5) December 4, 2014
Decision Architecture: Building Better Choices
Developing good policies can be thought of as a form of “decision architecture” in which we structure the policies in such a way as to leverage our natural human proclivities, like sticking with our default options.
Top Five “Firm News and Events” Posts:
1) June 5, 2014
Yusuf and Maegan’s Professional Wedding Photos
Yusuf and Maegan’s professional wedding photos are in! Take a look at the newlyweds…
2) February 13, 2014
Elissa and Dave Sailing in the BVI
Elissa and Dave enjoyed a sailing excursion in the British Virgin Islands. Here are a few pictures from their trip.
3) February 13, 2014
Investor Behavior: The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing
Elissa and Dave were part of the dynamic team of academics and experienced practitioners who contributed to the body of knowledge in “Investor Behavior.”
4) January 16, 2014
Yeske Buie Open House in Vienna
The Yeske Buie Open House in Vienna featured a professional tarot card reader, catering from Purple Onion Catering Co, and wines from three of Elissa and Dave’s favorite wineries in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County.
5) April 10, 2014
Give Big
While giving back to the community has always been a Yeske Buie value, this year we have implemented a campaign for the Yeske Buie Team to volunteer on a quarterly basis called Give Big to make a difference in our local communities.
Top Five “Fun Stuff” Posts:
1) January 29, 2014
Video: The Wisdom of Crowds
We conducted an experiment testing the “wisdom of crowds”, the proposition that, in many situations, the collective wisdom of a group will surpass that of even its smartest individual members.
2) July 31, 2014
The Live Big Chronicles – Live Big, Live Free
We were recently inspired by that idea to create The Live Big Chronicles, a new list that chronicles some of the things you can do to Live Big in the DC/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) and San Francisco areas without spending any money at all.
3) June 19, 2014
Take a Seat – Make a Friend?
Put two strangers in a ball pit and have them talk to each other. What can happen?
4) September 11, 2014
Elissa and Dave’s Live Big Euro Trip
This year, Elissa and Dave took a two week trip to London and Barcelona. Visits to London are special for Elissa and Dave as Elissa’s mother was British and she still has many relatives in the area.
5) August 14, 2014
Sheppard Kominars: Portal Poems
When we get the opportunity and permission, we like to highlight the projects our clients have worked on. Most recently we’ve explored Sheppard Kominars’ personal journey throughout the past couple decades of his life through a book called Portal Poems: Perspectives on Aging
Top Five “YeBu in the Media” Posts:
1) February 28, 2014
Dave in the Chicago Tribune
Dave was recently quoted in the Chicago Tribune, where writer Janet Kidd Stewart tells readers how ‘Getting personal with your financial expert can pay off.’
2) January 29, 2014
Dave Quoted in CNBC
When it comes to assessing where to put money to work in 2014, Andrew Osterland of CNBC reports that advisors are largely in agreement: tilt towards stocks.
3) October 24, 2014
Elissa Buie Appears in Washingtonian Magazine
Elissa Buie appears on Washingtonian Magazine’s list of top money advisors for the fifth time. Elissa has appears on all four of Washingtonian’s previous lists of top financial planners.
4) November 20, 2014
Elissa Buie Appears in Financial Times Magazine
Financial Times, the venerable 126 year old London based newspaper, has named Elissa Buie to its inaugural FT Top 100 Women Financial Advisers list for 2014.
5) October 16, 2014
NYTimes: Market Turbulence Serves as Reminder to Tread Lightly
Tara Siegel Bernard ends her New York Times article with a reference to the Yeske Buie approach to weathering choppy markets.
Top Ten Most Popular Posts Of All Time:
1) December 19, 2012
Perhaps the most beautiful flash mob ever . . .
Our good friend Ed Jacobson, PhD, author of Appreciative Moments, sent us a video we thought you’d appreciate. Elissa called it “perhaps the most beautiful flash mob ever.
2) April 3, 2013
The Great Disinformation: Why David Stockman is Wrong
Ideology, not economics, is at the center of Stockman’s arguments. And his ideology is whole and consistent and dyspeptic and dystopian. Here’s why he’s wrong.
3) March 23, 2013
Stand By Me
A global rendition of the classic Ben E. King song Stand By Me from the documentary “Playing for Change: Peace Through Music.”
4) June 6, 2013
Managing Risk when Rebalancing into Bonds
Strong stock market gains have triggered rebalancing into bonds at a time when many consider the bond market expensive. Out of the frying pan and into the fire?
5) March 6, 2009
What does it mean to Live Big® in these trying times?
What does Live Big mean? Some may interpret it as meaning “spend big”, “live large” or a recommendation to some other form of overindulgence. But Live Big is not about the size of your wallet, it’s about the size of your life. In these crazy economic times, it can sometimes be difficult to remember the areas in our life where we can Live Big without spending (much, if any) money. But if we can find the place of gratitude for what we have, we can find joy in the most mundane of places, and, hopefully, at least get our minds off of how scary the world can feel at times.
6) October 5, 2012
Portfolio Strategy Update: Toward a Truly Global Portfolio
You’ve often heard us say that it makes sense to be “geographically-neutral,” that there is no systematic return associated with geographic allocation. One exception in recent years has been an extreme under-weighting of so-called Emerging Markets, which for some time represented less than a tenth of their true market weight in our portfolios. We moved to shift that balance in January (The Case for Emerging Markets) and have now made a further shift toward emerging markets that has completed this transition to a “geographically-neutral” allocation.
7) June 20, 2010
Chaotic Systems, or why the market is a lot like the weather
Why should the radar map of a storm that swept Oklahoma in 1999, spawning 7 tornadoes and $1 billion in damage resemble SmartMoney.com’s Map of the Market?
8) January 29, 2014
Video: The Wisdom of Crowds
We conducted an experiment testing the “wisdom of crowds”, the proposition that, in many situations, the collective wisdom of a group will surpass that of even its smartest individual members.
9) October 15, 2014
Ignore the Headlines
Dave shares a few thoughts on the current state of the world as the ebb and flow of daily crises seem to have surged past some invisible threshold that leaves us feeling off balance and scrambling for a firm place to stand.
10) October 24, 2013
Elissa Awarded Financial Planning Profession’s Highest Honor
In October 2013, Elissa was awarded the prestigious P. Kemp Fain, Jr. Award, the Financial Planning profession’s equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. Elissa’s significant role in merging the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP) and the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP) to form the Financial Planning Association, her contributions as a thought leader to the advancement of the profession through her writing, presenting, and teaching, and her contributions to society and the profession through her work at the Foundation for Financial Planning were highlighted as she received the award.
Here’s wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!