Thoughts on Scott Burns.... - Page 2

Art G · 03-25-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL!

Yep, everyone is a crook until proven otherwise.

BTW, I worked in a hospital for awhile. I know many physicians as personal friends. A few of my very close relatives are physicians. Many physicians are also incompetent, but you can call them crooks if you want.

You'd make one heck of a juror!
Any occupation you trust? How about priests? Surely there's nothing dishonest about them?

I don't trust those Costco door people! I don't like the way they eye my cart as I'm leaving.

brewer12345 · 03-25-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art G

Any occupation you trust? How about priests? Surely there's nothing dishonest about them?

Local Catholic Priests to Hold Traditional Boy Diddling Contest

FinanceDude · 03-25-2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Local Catholic Priests to Hold Traditional Boy Diddling Contest

Brewer, you are one sick puppy...........

brewer12345 · 03-25-2008, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude

Brewer, you are one sick puppy...........

And I am Catholic, too.

FinanceDude · 03-25-2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

And I am Catholic, too.

So am I......sorry to both of us...........

However, things are looking up....we now have a hot woman Deacon to help out.........

brewer12345 · 03-25-2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude

However, things are looking up....we now have a hot woman Deacon to help out.........

Heh, we have a guy who is a dead ringer for "Newman" from Seinfeld.

dogLover · 03-25-2008, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art G

I know many enjoy reading that financial guru known as Scott Burns (I read him regularly myself), but how in the world can he now justify his relationship with an investment firm who charges an annual fee just to put you into his "couch potato" portfolios?
If they are so easy you can do it while sitting on the couch, then why would you pay someone to watch it for you? And how can he with a straight face now declare that the only investment advisors worth working with just charge an annual fee, AFTER he makes this relationship with a fee type advisor? Isn't his entire view of not needing a financial advisor now become moot?
Am I the only one who sees a huge conflict of interest here?
All JMO, of course.

Sorry But I have to go back here. I think you are misinformed and have not really read Scott weekly or looked at his site. Yes he is in the registered investment advisor business; but he is not offering his "couch potato" portfolios. He is using Mean Variance Optimization with DFA Funds to offer risk managed portfolios for people who are not do-it-yourself-ers. The only connection between AssetBuilders and the couch potato is the "buy and hold" strategy. (Plus he still has all the information for the do-it-yourself crowd on his couch potato portfolios)
AssetBuilder Inc. - Registered Investment Advisor- Our Approach to Investing

Second if you read the forums it says Scott is not running the day to day business and I DO read Scott weekly (twice a week actually) and I have never heard him mention AssetBuilder. So therefore I believe he is not advertising to his readers and selling out.

And as LOL! said there are a lot of people who can't and do not want to do MVO by themselves (me being included) so Scott's firm handles that for them. I think thats a great service to offer. And I too commend Scott for doing it.

lsbcal · 03-25-2008, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude

Most folks on here know about 95% more than the average American..........

I think you are seriously underestimating us

.

clifp · 03-25-2008, 05:52 PM

I think Finance Dude meant we know more (about money) than 95% of the population. Because God I hope after all these years I know more than twice as much as the average American. The average American pretty much knows nothing and twice of nothing ain't much.

I really have no problems with Scott Burn's is doing. It seems to me the first rule in investment is to do nothing stupid. Investing 50% of your money in Vanguard Total Bond Market and 50% in the Total Stock Market (couch potato portfolio) may not be optimal, but it isn't stupid. Likewise giving 100% of your money to DFA advisors may not be brilliant but it isn't stupid.

Buckeye · 03-25-2008, 06:20 PM

I'm disappointed he didn't go with a fixed fee scheme. Asset Builder should be compensated for the time they spend on a client's account, not the value of the numbers they are typing into the computer.

pedorrero · 03-25-2008, 08:23 PM

I recently posted a rant on the Fool about Burns. He, of the book "The Coming Generational Storm" fame, apparently had a change of heart and said, in a recent article, that basically Social Security will be there for you. Possibly, but what about the unfunded liability of the government(s) that is, roughly, 75% of everything we already own?

lsbcal · 03-25-2008, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedorrero

...basically Social Security will be there for you. Possibly, but what about the unfunded liability of the government(s) that is, roughly, 75% of everything we already own?

Don't worry, most of the world is more f****d up then us

. It's all relative.

Ed_The_Gypsy · 03-25-2008, 09:04 PM

Yes, Scott still does post the do-it-yourself Vanguard stuff.

By the way, you must have a minimum of $2 million US to join their parade, so I am not going to lose any sleep worrying about their customers.

Web sites ain't free to run. Try it some time.

Gypsy

dogLover · 03-26-2008, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy

you must have a minimum of $2 million US to join their parade,

Gypsy

Huh? Look at their fee schedule
AssetBuilder Inc. - Registered Investment Advisor- AssetBuilder Fees

Quote for AssetBuilder :"We are currently only accepting accounts with at least $50,000."

Have you even read his site?

Art G · 03-26-2008, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogLover

Sorry But I have to go back here. I think you are misinformed and have not really read Scott weekly or looked at his site. Yes he is in the registered investment advisor business; but he is not offering his "couch potato" portfolios. He is using Mean Variance Optimization with DFA Funds to offer risk managed portfolios for people who are not do-it-yourself-ers. The only connection between AssetBuilders and the couch potato is the "buy and hold" strategy. (Plus he still has all the information for the do-it-yourself crowd on his couch potato portfolios)
AssetBuilder Inc. - Registered Investment Advisor- Our Approach to Investing

Second if you read the forums it says Scott is not running the day to day business and I DO read Scott weekly (twice a week actually) and I have never heard him mention AssetBuilder. So therefore I believe he is not advertising to his readers and selling out.

And as LOL! said there are a lot of people who can't and do not want to do MVO by themselves (me being included) so Scott's firm handles that for them. I think thats a great service to offer. And I too commend Scott for doing it.

I wondered how long it would take before someone from Assetbuilder posted on here. I know Scott reads this board because he's the reason I first came here.
First off, I learned about Assetbuilder via Scott's articles, so somewhere he must have stated his association. Secondly, this is from the Assetbuilder website...

Smart allocation: We go a step beyond “naïve” diversification. We use a technique called “mean variance optimization” that helps us get the highest return for the least risk from any given group of asset classes. Smart allocation is the most difficult step because it involves both rocket science and art. And that’s where we think we can add some real value with pre-constructed, risk-measured portfolios. Lots of people can divide by two, three, four, or five to produce a Couch Potato Building Block portfolio. But optimizing requires more work. With it, we can produce near equity market returns with lower risk.

So I guess I am a tad confused. Obviously to even refer to the "couch potato" method on a website they must have Scott's approval, so now I guess we can assume Scott has realized that his suggested method to millions of readers was folly? Scott has finally deduced (what investment professionals have contested for years)that investing is more difficult than merely dividing by two or three? So, now that he's associated with a firm, he recognizes the value of investment advice? Well how convenient for Scott.

clifp · 03-26-2008, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art G

I wondered how long it would take before someone from Assetbuilder posted on here. I know Scott reads this board because he's the reason I first came here.
First off, I learned about Assetbuilder via Scott's articles, so somewhere he must have stated his association. Secondly, this is from the Assetbuilder website...

Smart allocation: We go a step beyond “naïve” diversification. We use a technique called “mean variance optimization” that helps us get the highest return for the least risk from any given group of asset classes. Smart allocation is the most difficult step because it involves both rocket science and art. And that’s where we think we can add some real value with pre-constructed, risk-measured portfolios. Lots of people can divide by two, three, four, or five to produce a Couch Potato Building Block portfolio. But optimizing requires more work. With it, we can produce near equity market returns with lower risk.

So I guess I am a tad confused. Obviously to even refer to the "couch potato" method on a website they must have Scott's approval, so now I guess we can assume Scott has realized that his suggested method to millions of readers was folly? Scott has finally deduced (what investment professionals have contested for years)that investing is more difficult than merely dividing by two or three? So, now that he's associated with a firm, he recognizes the value of investment advice? Well how convenient for Scott.

Well I'll let Scott and/or the Asset Builder folks defend themself but...

My take on that the couch potato and other similar DIY portfolio (.e.g Coffee House) that utlize Vanguard index funds or ETF is they provide superior performance for the vast majority of investors than actively managed funds and/or a financial planner. Historically DFA is a very rare (maybe even unique) exception to the rule about semi-active investing beating passive investing, probably be the focus is on increasing risk-adjusted returns.

The debate then comes down to is the performance of DFA funds enough to outweigh the fees. Opinions vary on this.

pedorrero · 03-26-2008, 05:17 PM

I think I'll just order 5 or 6 more gold eagles from the coin dealer after my latest check clears...

-- Pedorrero, whose menagerie consists of a gerbil, three cats, Eagles, Maple Leaves, and perhaps a Colt to ward off unwelcome visitors.

FinanceDude · 03-27-2008, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogLover

Huh? Look at their fee schedule
AssetBuilder Inc. - Registered Investment Advisor- AssetBuilder Fees

Quote for AssetBuilder :"We are currently only accepting accounts with at least $50,000."

Have you even read his site?

I could make that fee structure work well for me, but I am not going to commit millions to DFA and pay big money to go to their boot camp and suffer through due diligence for a year..........

I personally would do this for accounts only $100,000 and above, but it appears you can set up whatever you want.

Taking the DFA investment piece out of it, the fee structure is quite doable in the independent advisor platform like I am in.

It would be harder to implement at firms like Merrill Lynch and Edward Jones because the margins are smaller and they need to pay a lot more expensive salaries..........

I know saluki9 uses them, he's at a wealth management firm and that's the kind of firms DFA caters too..........but the commitment is large for smaller guys like me........

innova · 03-27-2008, 10:41 AM

Quote:

but I am not going to commit millions to DFA and pay big money to go to their boot camp and suffer through due diligence for a year

I REALLY wish DFA would offer ETF versions of their funds ala Vanguard. That would truly be the best of both worlds.

I think the reason for the indoctrination is to maintain low turnover and not market-time - that benefits all of DFA's clients. They are a very smart shop, and their risk-adjusted returns speak for themselves.

03-25-2008, 08:23 PM	#31
pedorrero Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Butt Plug, FL Posts: 218	I recently posted a rant on the Fool about Burns. He, of the book "The Coming Generational Storm" fame, apparently had a change of heart and said, in a recent article, that basically Social Security will be there for you. Possibly, but what about the unfunded liability of the government(s) that is, roughly, 75% of everything we already own? __________________ I've got nothing against an honest day's work, provided that someone else does it.

03-25-2008, 09:04 PM	#33
Ed_The_Gypsy Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,872	Yes, Scott still does post the do-it-yourself Vanguard stuff. By the way, you must have a minimum of $2 million US to join their parade, so I am not going to lose any sleep worrying about their customers. Web sites ain't free to run. Try it some time. Gypsy __________________ "Ain't got no money for no old-age pension; I'm so broke, I can't pay attention!"

03-26-2008, 05:17 PM	#37
pedorrero Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: East Butt Plug, FL Posts: 218	I think I'll just order 5 or 6 more gold eagles from the coin dealer after my latest check clears... -- Pedorrero, whose menagerie consists of a gerbil, three cats, Eagles, Maple Leaves, and perhaps a Colt to ward off unwelcome visitors. __________________ I've got nothing against an honest day's work, provided that someone else does it.

03-25-2008, 05:52 PM	#29
clifp Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,164	I think Finance Dude meant we know more (about money) than 95% of the population. Because God I hope after all these years I know more than twice as much as the average American. The average American pretty much knows nothing and twice of nothing ain't much. I really have no problems with Scott Burn's is doing. It seems to me the first rule in investment is to do nothing stupid. Investing 50% of your money in Vanguard Total Bond Market and 50% in the Total Stock Market (couch potato portfolio) may not be optimal, but it isn't stupid. Likewise giving 100% of your money to DFA advisors may not be brilliant but it isn't stupid.

03-25-2008, 06:20 PM	#30
Buckeye Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 457	I'm disappointed he didn't go with a fixed fee scheme. Asset Builder should be compensated for the time they spend on a client's account, not the value of the numbers they are typing into the computer.