Intermediate
The ideas behind the numbers — correlation, the efficient frontier, beta, factors, fees — still in plain English, now with the research behind them.
13 lessons · plain English · cited
Compounding: how money snowballs
Growth on top of past growth is what makes long-term investing powerful.
What “risk” really measures
In finance, risk usually means how much returns bounce around — the size of the swings.
Why diversification actually works
When your holdings don’t move in lockstep, their swings partly cancel out.
The efficient frontier
For every level of risk there’s a best-possible mix — and together they form a curve.
Beta and the price of risk
Beta measures how much a holding tends to move with the whole market.
Alpha vs beta
Beta is the return you get just for riding the market; alpha is the extra from skill.
Drawdowns, recovery, and timing
A drop hurts twice: the loss itself, and the steeper climb needed to get back.
Reward per unit of risk
Smart scoring compares how much reward you earned for the bumpiness you took.
The quiet bonus of rebalancing
Periodically trimming winners and topping up laggards can add return and control risk.
Factors: the ingredients of returns
Beyond the market, a few traits — like value and momentum — have paid extra over time.
Drip it in, or all at once?
Investing a lump sum usually wins on average, but spreading it in can feel safer.
The quiet tax of fees
Small yearly fees compound into a huge bite over a lifetime of investing.
Credit spreads and bond ETFs
The extra yield a bond pays over a “safe” government bond is the market’s price on risk.