Revisiting TIPS

• The U.S. Treasury began to sell Treasury Inflation Protected Securities [TIPS] in 1997. Inflation since then has been extremely low, by recent historical standards - the historical standards that prompted the creation of TIPS in the first place. How have TIPS done, as compared with other fixed income instruments or the stock market?
• Are TIPS a good indicator of future inflation expectations?
• What investment funds are available to capture the risk and return of TIPS? How does SCLC evaluate them?

Retirement Income & the 4% Rule

• History of the 4% withdrawal rate as a “rule of thumb” for retirement portfolio distributions
• Academic criticism of the 4% rule, and fixed rules in general
• Alternate approaches to prudent portfolio and distribution management

The SCLC Risk/Return Continuum in 2000 & 2010

• Purpose of the Risk/Return Continuum as a portfolio design/risk illustration tool
• Illustration of the changing dynamics of the risk/return tradeoff over the “lost decade” of 2000 through 2010
• Benefits and limitations of using historical market outcomes for forward looking portfolio design decisions

The Morningstar 401(k) Plan: A Critique

• Impact of Morningstar Mutual Fund Ratings
• How Morningstar Thinks Star Ratings Should be Used
• Careful Fund Selection, Prudent Asset Allocation, Broad
  Diversification and Patience may be Required

More Likely Than Not (If You Knew Then What You Know Now …)

• The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): a primer
• Probability Comes in 3 Flavors
• How has CAPM Fared on Planet Earth?
• A 70/30 Portfolio Invested in 1995, 2000, and 2005: Real Returns?

Small Company Stock Indexes (and the poor souls who follow them)

• One asset class tracked by four indexes, all quite different: how to choose?
• Four small cap stock indexes tracked by four quite different funds: how to choose?
• Index funds versus Structured Asset Class funds versus Exchange Traded Funds: an attempt at a taxonomy.

The Fiduciary Flap: Should Advisors be Required to Put Client Interests First?

• Fiduciary Reform and Universal Fiduciary Standards
• An Emerging Fiducary Standard of Practice
• Investment Advice to Participants in ERISA Retirement Plans

Roth IRA Conversion Opportunities in 2010

• Traditional vs. Roth IRAs
• Should I consider converting? Some examples may shed light.
• How much should I convert? Partial conversions, and how they may be used.
• The Roth IRA as an Estate planning tool.
• Backing out of a Conversion as an Income Tax planning tool.

The Value Premium: An Empirical Update

• Does the Value Premium Exist?
• Differing Indexes, Differing Opinions
• Trends in the Value Premium
• Large, Small, and International Value Reviews

Investment Basics: Rational Investing and Asset Allocation

• Contrasting Hopeful and Rational Approaches
• Asset Allocation: A Definition
• Asset Allocation and the Risk/Return Tradeoff (with Graphs)
• Changing Circumstances and Preferential Criteria