For years, we’ve been sharing the results of Dimensional Fund Advisors’ annually updated “Mutual Fund Landscape” analysis.  As we first expressed back in 2013, “This analysis of the US mutual fund industry performance casts doubt on the ability of investors to form a winning long-term strategy by picking outperforming funds based on past returns. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of investment strategies that attempt to add value by identifying mispriced securities.”

This is one message that bears repeating. Especially since, this year, somebody got creative over at Dimensional and produced an engaging video version. Check it out!

What’s 100 years old, a member of the Hill Investment Group family, and the first and largest of its kind?

If you’re a St. Louisan, you may already know the answer is The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre – or, The Muny, to its many friends. Founded in 1918, the Muny is the oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre in the nation. The HIG connection comes from the fact that its long-tenured President and CEO Dennis Reagan is our own John Reagan’s dad. (Reagan Senior has been a fixture at the theatre since he joined their ranks more than 50 years ago!)

To commemorate its centennial, we hosted a birthday bash for this beloved venue on August 12, including a pre-show dinner and backstage theatre tour, followed by the season’s closing production of (what else?) “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

 

We were pleased to put on the event, enjoyed by a good number of our local friends. What a night it was. Because pictures will capture the event far better than words can, we invite you to stroll over to HIG’s Instagram page, where we’ve posted several other photos of the fun.

Here’s to the Muny’s next season … 101 and counting!

Speaking of Vanguard versus AQR, another frequently asked question we get here at Hill Investment Group is why we typically use Dimensional Fund Advisors instead of Vanguard for the core of our portfolio builds. Vanguard typically beats Dimensional in terms of raw fund expense ratios (i.e., how much the investor pays to fund management). And we often emphasize how important it is to manage costs. Shouldn’t that mean Vanguard is the obvious choice? Our answer: Expense ratios are an important consideration, but they’re not the only one. At HIG, our Investment Policy Committee (IPC) is tasked with remaining current on these sorts of comparisons. To supplement our own, independent analyses, we also keep an eye on the work of respected colleagues, such as the BAM ALLIANCE’s Chief Investment Officer Jared Kizer, CFA. As a former colleague, Jared graciously agreed to let us share his own recent research report here: “Comparing DFA- vs. Vanguard-Oriented Portfolios.” I found Jared’s analysis compelling, and I hope you do as well. Enjoy the read.