American Investment Services, Inc.

Disciplined, Diversified, & Cost Effective

2020

Nov. 2020 – The Limits of Investment Knowledge

Successful investing is unlike many other endeavors. Because investment outcomes can be random and unpredictable, learning moreand trying harder don’t necessarily lead to better results. Contrast that with activities in which working harder statistically leads to better results. Some people like running. The average runner might run a few times a week in the summer,

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Sept. 2020 -Elections, Markets, and Emotions

As in previous election years, investors are inundated with headlines and opinions regarding potential electoral outcomes and resulting implications for capital markets. This year, uncertainty regarding the potential health and economic impacts of a global pandemic has amplified the noise. Meanwhile, the ascent of social media has fanned the flames by all too often animating

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Same Old Story

June 2020 – Large and In Charge? Giant Firms atop Market Is Nothing New

A top-heavy stock market with the largest 10 stocks accounting for over 20% of market capitalization and a marquee technology firm perched at No. 1? This sounds like a description of the current US stock market, dominated by Apple and the other FAANG stocks,1 but it is actually a reference to 1967, when IBM represented

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May 2020 – Spread the Word: What’s New with Valuation Ratios

These have been challenging times for value stocks. Over the 10-year period ending March 31, 2020, the Fama/French US ValueResearch Index returned an annualized 5.06%, well behind the 13.04% achieved by the Fama/French US Growth Research Index.This performance divergence has resulted in a substantial widening of the price-to-book spread between value and growth stocks in

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