WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Sep 30, 2013) - Charley Ellis remembers exactly where he was five years ago, when financial services firm Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, sparking a one-day drop of 500 points in the Dow and the start of the Great Recession. At the time, Ellis was chairman of the Investment Committee at Yale University, overseeing some $23 billion in assets.
"The year 2008 was a horrific experience," says Ellis. "Did it change any long-term views, any fundamental beliefs? Honestly no. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely not. Was I deeply upset? Yes. Did I have serious conversations with my wife? Yes. Did I wonder whether I was doing the right thing? Yes. Did I hang in there? Fortunately yes."
Ellis shares the lessons he learned in a series of television conversations that debut today on a new YouTube channel presented by The Center for Retirement Investing, an educational project sponsored by the retirement advisory firm Rebalance IRA. Joining Ellis are Princeton economist Burt Malkiel (author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street) and Jay Vivian, former Managing Director of IBM's Retirement Funds.
All three are legendary experts in the world of investing and together they form the Investment Committee of Rebalance IRA. Each advocates an approach to retirement investing that features indexing, low fees, and regular rebalancing among asset classes.
Malkiel argues that the experience of 2008 provides a prime example of why market timing doesn't work. According to Malkiel, "In more than 50 years, I have never known anyone who could consistently time the market. In fact, I've never known anyone who knows anyone who could consistently time the market. In the third quarter of 2008, during the height of the financial crisis, more money came out of equities than ever before. People were taking money out by droves. And that was exactly when they should have been putting money in. So the problem is you'll never get it right and you're more likely to get it wrong when you try to do it. It's extremely dangerous. Don't do it."
Vivian agrees that one of the biggest mistakes investors made after the Lehman collapse was to withdraw from the stock market. "The market peaked in October 2007. And the market ran down for 18 months," observes Vivian. "A lot of people said, 'Man, I can't stand the heat. I'm getting out of the kitchen.' That was exactly the wrong time to get out because that's when the market started back up again, and now we've seen that the market has gone back up to record highs. It's tempting to want to take all your chips off the table, but it's better just to stay the course."
New research conducted by The Center for Retirement Investing reinforces the argument that investors win by combining a long-term approach with a strategy that includes a globally diversified portfolio, low fees, and regular rebalancing between asset classes. This type of "institutional-grade" investment strategy has produced 5-year cumulative returns of between 34% and 53%.
According to Rebalance IRA Managing Partner Scott Puritz, producing original videos for YouTube represented an effective way to bring this investment philosophy to a broad audience. "We want all investors to have access to the deep experience and fundamental insights of Burt, Charley and Jay. We thought that it was appropriate that the Center's first project is aimed at sharing those insights with investors everywhere. "
About The Center for Retirement Investing
The Center for Retirement Investing is an educational project dedicated to enhancing financial literacy and helping everyday Americans better manage their saving for retirement. Ivy League professors and prestigious finance industry experts translate the complexities of modern investing into easy-to-understand concepts and actionable advice: keep fees low, be globally diversified, and rebalance among asset classes.
The Center's "faculty" includes legendary investing experts:
Professor Burton Malkiel -- emeritus Princeton economics professor, former board member at Vanguard, and author of the classic investment book, A Random Walk Down Wall Street.
Dr. Charles Ellis -- former board member of Vanguard, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the famed Yale University Endowment, and Harvard Business School instructor.
Jay Vivian -- former Managing Director of IBM's Retirement Funds, responsible for over $135 billion in IBM investment funds for more than 400,000 employees worldwide.
The Center for Retirement Investing, sponsored by retirement advisory firm Rebalance IRA, offers video interviews on its YouTube Channel, and more in-depth curriculum on its website:
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/retirementinvesting
Website: www.centerforretirementinvesting.org
About Rebalance IRA
Rebalance IRA is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor that manages client IRA accounts as low as $75,000 at Charles Schwab and Fidelity. With an innovative business model that leverages advanced technology, Rebalance IRA provides low-cost, high quality one-on-one retirement advice using sophisticated investment management methods. For more information visit: www.rebalance-ira.com
Contact Information:
Press Contact:
Erica Zeidenberg
(925) 631-0553