Quote of the day

The Investor, “If you want to beat the market, it’s a good idea to do something different. Not being driven by short-term performance is one way to do so.”  (Monevator)

Chart of the day

IWM_0714

2014 has been all about small cap underperformance.  (Pension Partners)

Markets

Three lessons from recent market tops.  (The Reformed Broker)

Normal markets are not all that normal.  (The Irrelevant Investor)

Ranking the factors behind the low volatility market regime.  (FT Alphaville)

Notes from the Delivering Alpha 2014 conference.  (The Reformed Broker, part 2, part 3)

Why you should be wary of goldbugs.  (Bloomberg View)

Strategy

Rule #1 for investors: don’t be consistently stupid.  (Random Roger)

Investment plans have embedded forecasts whether you realize it or not.  (Pragmatic Capitalism)

Momentum strategies work, period.  (Alpha Architect)

Corrections happen: you just don’t know when.  (A Wealth of Common Sense)

Very few of us have optimized our work (trading) environments.  (TraderFeed)

Companies

Intel ($INTC) and Microsoft ($MSFT) are now hitting decade highs.  (TechCrunch)

How good have Warren Buffett’s forays into retailing been?  (WSJ)

Why HBO is such an attractive asset.  (Quartz)

How the 21st Century Fox ($FOXA) with Time Warner ($TWX) dance will play out.  (Business Insider, Buzzfeed)

Finance

Car insurance is about to get upended by pay-per-mile models.  (TechCrunch)

Network effects happen. Just not as often as investors anticipate.  (Musings on Markets)

Quants jumping from one financial firm to another are finding it tougher and tougher.  (Bloomberg)

ETFs

The downside of ETFs: overtrading.  (Focus on Funds, Larry Swedroe)

Should you tilt your portfolio?  (Rick Ferri)

Global

Health care spending is falling around the world.  (The Upshot)

Economy

Weekly initial unemployment claims continue to trend lower.  (Calculated Risk, Bespoke)

How housing prices are tracking.  (Real Time Economics)

The downside of central bankers jawboning the markets.  (The Upshot)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

What you might have missed in our Wednesday linkfest.  (Abnormal Returns)

Mixed media

How to feel better about your spending.  (Behavior Gap)

How to become a cable news pundit.  (The Week)

How mindfulness has become a competitive weapon for professionals.  (New Yorker)

You can support Abnormal Returns by shopping at Amazon. Don’t forget to follow us on StockTwits and Twitter.

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Please see disclosures here.

Please see the Terms & Conditions page for a full disclaimer.