SHEARWATER CAPITAL

A bear market is defined as a 20% drop from a recent high in the stock market. Most major stock markets in the U.S. and around the world entered bear market ...

When Shearwater Capital was founded in 1999, most financial advisors were recommending actively managed funds with exorbitant annual expense ratios. We had t...

A fundamental principle of financial economics is the idea that risk and return are inextricably linked. However, when it comes to investing, not all risk is...

“What’s the stock market going to do?” If you have read our past newsletters, you know that we are not market prognosticators. It is difficult for anyone to ...

Since 2012, the stock market has demonstrated below average volatility and positive returns, potentially lulling investors into a false sense of complacency....

The time value of money is the concept that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar next month, next year, or ten years from now. This makes sense because...

Socially responsible investing refers to an investment strategy that considers the potential impact of your investments on society in additi

Why do we invest in stocks? Stocks are risky. Why not just buy U.S. treasury bonds and get a guaranteed rate of return backed by the full faith and credit of...

We recommend building your retirement assets by contributing to three separate “buckets” of money: 1) traditional retirement accounts; 2) Roth accounts; and ...

We recommend building your retirement assets by contributing to three separate “buckets” of money: 1) traditional retirement accounts; 2) Roth accounts; and ...

Academic research has shown that there is little predictability in asset class performance from one year to the next. To illustrate this point, the chart bel...

In constructing our client portfolios, we rely primarily on DFA funds, for both equity and fixed income securities. While most of our clients understand the ...

Vanguard recently published a white paper on “advisor’s alpha,” in which they discuss and attempt to quantify the value an investment advisor can provide for...

Two of the most common questions people ask about retirement planning are, “How much should I save?” and “Am I on track with my accumulated savings?” These a...

Shearwater Capital was founded 14 years ago on a simple premise: offer an investment approach based on the best available evidence from academic research at ...

The main goal for most investors is to save for a comfortable retirement. While each individual’s retirement planning strategy should be tailored to their ow...

As an investor, you can choose between active and passive investment management. Active management is an attempt to beat the market averages through stock se...

Behavioral finance is the study of how biased thinking can impair our ability to make good investment decisions. It helps to be aware of our financial biases...

With interest rates near historical lows, many investors are concerned about their fixed income investments. Not only are bonds offering meager returns, but ...

Shearwater Capital was founded by Eric Malden and me in 1999, while we were classmates in the Executive MBA program at Washington University. We started the ...