Investing Based on Evidence; not Emotions, Greed, or Hype
Investing at times can seem simple, but history tells us that over longer periods, it never is. Too many people make their investment decisions based on what’s popular today, only to see those gains evaporate when the market cycle changes. That’s why at Awaken Wealth, we’re here to help you make consistent, measurable progress toward your goals.
Our Investment Approach
As a fee-based, independent advisory firm, there is no incentive for us to recommend one product or fund company over another. Rather we’re agnostic and completely neutral. And because of that, this gives us the freedom to utilize some of the largest, most trusted names in the financial industry to build out tailored investment strategies for our clients.
Markets Work.
"So who still believes markets don't work? Apparently it is only the North Koreans, the Cubans and the active managers."
Rex Sinquefield - Co-founder & board member, Dimensional Fund Advisors
Capital markets have created immense wealth over time. Many investors would benefit by simply understanding this simple fact. Historically, investor activity and behaviour has only detracted from these returns.
Don't Play the Loser's Game
"Hint: money flows into most funds after good performance, and goes out when bad performance follows.“
John Bogle – Founder, Vanguard Group
Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Sadly, many investors ignore this fact and flood money into money managers that have performed well in the past. Why play that game when you don’t have to!
Incorporate Market Information into Your Portfolio
"Everybody has some information. The function of the markets is to aggregate that information, evaluate it and get it incorporated into prices.“
Merton Miller, Ph.D, Nobel Laureate in Economics
The world is not black and white, and investors can choose to combine the best of both active investing along with passive management. Factor investing is a systematic approach acknowledging market prices and information without having to predict future outcomes.
Acknowledge Market Dimensions
“Markets are efficient, but there are different dimensions of risk and those lead to different dimensions of expected returns. That's what people should be concerned with in their investment decisions and not with whether they can pick stocks, pick winners and losers among the various managers delivering basically the same product.”
Eugene Fama, Ph.D, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Not all stocks are created equal; therefore, not all stocks should have the same expected return into the future. Academic research has uncovered additional company characteristics that have historically rewarded investors with additional returns.
Invest Globally
"Cultures, nations, religions, and people are not rocks. They are in constant transformation.
Hans Rosling – Author, "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think"
Investing in your home country has its benefits; however, ignoring the rest of the growing global economy often comes as missed opportunity.
Practice Smart Diversification
"Diversification is the only free lunch."
Harry Markowitz, Ph.D, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Not all investment accounts are the same! It's not enough to diversify by security (e.g., a portfolio that replicates the S&P/TSX Composite Index). Deeper diversification involves geographic and asset class diversity. Holding a global portfolio helps reduce risk and increase expected returns.
Develop a Plan
“The most important thing about an investment plan, is that you have one you can stick with.”
David Booth, Founder & Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors
Investments are a tool used to achieve financial independence and specific goals. We work with our clients each year to map out an allocation among assets that meets their return target and risk tolerance.
Focus on What You Can Control
"The investor's chief problem, and even his worst enemy, is likely to be himself.“
Benjamin Graham, co-author, “Security Analysis”
Most investors are constantly reacting to markets and trying to figure out what is coming next. This is to relinquish control to the markets! Instead, build a financial plan and a portfolio allocation that can handle whatever the markets throw your way!
Listen on the Rational Reminder Podcast
You can hear directly from the Dimensional leadership on the Rational Reminder podcast on the following episodes:
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