Dumb Is Better

This morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that the smartest way to play the markets in 2013 was by being dumb. Passive strategies that involved buying and holding plane Jane stocks or index funds definitively outperformed all other investment groups. When dividends are included, the S&P 500 gained 32% for the year. Hotshot hedge funds and many actively managed pension funds were left in the dust. A quote from David Rolf, chief investment officer of St. Louis’s Wedgewood Partners was...