Ever wondered how to tell if your investment advice is leading you down a garden path? This episode of Bullshit on Stilts has you covered, as we spotlight the essential practice of assessing your investment performance against independent benchmarks. Learn how 401k accounts display performance metrics and why comparing your returns with indexes like the S&P 500 or the Russell 1000 is critical. We dive into the challenges of active management versus passive investment and highlight the importance of evaluating your investment performance over appropriate intervals, such as year-to-date and multi-year periods. By focusing on these longer intervals, we help you avoid the pitfalls of short-term thinking and gain a clearer picture of your investment efficacy.
Choosing between benchmarks can be a maze, but we simplify it in a way that's both informative and entertaining. Discover why institutions might lean towards the Russell 1000 while retail investors often prefer the S&P 500, and learn about creating composite benchmarks tailored to your portfolio. We use practical examples like a 60% stock and 40% bond allocation to illustrate how to blend different indexes for accurate performance measurement. By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly what you own, why you own it, and how it measures up against relevant benchmarks. Tune in for a mix of serious analysis, hijinks, and tomfoolery, and take control of your investments with newfound confidence.

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Developing your financial bullshit sniffer one episode at a time.