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MFS’ recently released findings from its Investing Sentiment Survey show that mass affluent investors (those with between $100000 and $1 million in household investable assets) have pessimistic attitudes toward investing.

In January in response to a requirement of the Dodd Frank law the SEC delivered a report to Congress recommending that broker-dealers be subject to the same fiduciary standard of care as investment advisors. However the SEC delayed imposing the fiduciary rule to conduct a cost benefit analysis.

According to Jim Parker Vice President DFA Australia Limited understanding investment risk begins with accepting that “the market itself has already done a lot of the worrying for you.” As Parker notes “Markets are highly competitive which means that new information is quickly built into prices.

Last month I wrote about a recent article Why We’re Not Wired for Successful Retirements by Philip Moeller that was based on a financial literacy test given to consumers in Chile.

A new report from State Street Global Advisors and the Wharton School Taking on the Role of Lead Advisor: A Model for Driving Assets Growth and Retention offers some insights into how investors’ loss of confidence in markets during the recession prompted many to begin managing their money themselves or to engage multiple advisors to diversify the risk they p

Do American workers have confidence that they will receive future benefits from Social Security? Results from the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) show most American workers are skeptical about the program. Here are some statistics from the report:

We probably all can recall hearing our mother say “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”  That solid advice to diversify is often misapplied to the investing front. Some investors think that buying 50 blue chip stocks complies with that adage.

Do men and women plan and save for retirement equally? The 21st annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) provides some answers. The RCS found men and women are equally likely to save for retirement. Also women are statistically as likely as men to report they are offered (43 percent vs. 49 percent) and contribute to (34 percent vs.

In Which Risks Are Worth Taking Jim Parker a vice president at Dimensional Fund Advisors writes “Even the most self-declared risk-averse people take risks every day.” Parker notes that routine risks to our safety include crossing the road exercising at the gym choosing lunch and using electrical equipment.

In a recent article Why We’re Not Wired for Successful Retirements Philip Moeller explores the psychology behind the answers to that question as documented in new research by Justine Hastings of Yale University and Olivia Mitchell of the University