Dimensional Fund Advisors

Articles and resources related to Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Investment Insight: The Impact of Fund Costs

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer
Published October 17, 2018

One of the foundational underpinnings of our investment approach at CCM is the simple premise that “costs matter.” Over the last 30 years, the internal and execution costs of how we manage portfolios has dropped significantly. This has resulted in savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars for our clients. We are diligent in our analysis of costs relative to the value received by our clients. When investing in mutual funds, the costs of ownership matter. Importantly, these costs need to be ... [Continue Reading]

The Tao of Wealth Management

Posted on August 23, 2018

There’s a classic line in the 1987 movie “Wall Street,” where Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Gekko states, “lunch is for wimps.” The implication is that in the business of money management, there’s no time to waste, certainly not for something as trivial as lunch. With only so many hours in the workday and a never-ending stream of new information to digest, the idea is that analysts and portfolio managers must spend every waking minute trying to gain an edge. This narrative is powerful, and ... [Continue Reading]

Catchphrase Investing

Posted on December 14, 2017

Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google collectively form the acronym FAANG. You may have heard about this group of stocks in the media recently as they’ve outperformed the market significantly this year. Should you therefore be changing your portfolio allocation to gain more exposure to these companies? That’s the question addressed by Jim Parker, a Vice President at Dimensional, in today’s recommended reading article "Catchphrase Investing." ... [Continue Reading]

Investment Insight: Beyond the Fiduciary Standard in Portfolio Management

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer
Published July 18, 2017

The adoption, delaying, and reconsidering of the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule has been a recent hot topic in the financial services industry. Much discussion and controversy has been swirling about whether the Rule would be adopted in its original form, modified in some way, or completely scrapped. As most of you know, CCM is firmly grounded in the fiduciary standard of care. If you missed Greg Carlson’s recent article on this topic, I encourage you to read, “What the Fiduciary Rule ... [Continue Reading]

The Importance of Low Costs, Understanding Data, and the Value of Trusted Advice

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer
Published March 9, 2017

Throughout the years we’ve come to appreciate the different perspectives held by firms and service providers within the financial services industry that vary from ours at CCM. We believe that varying viewpoints lead to meaningful conversations that ultimately produce better advice, products and service for our clients. This point is timely this week, as a recent Wall Street Journal story, “DFA Funds Are Booming, but That Adviser Fee Matters,” rightly highlighted the benchmark beating performance ... [Continue Reading]