Education

New to the markets or our research? We’re building out our education center to help you along! Check back periodically for more updates

Learning to understand the markets is like drinking from a fire hose. There’s no end to new information, everyone seems to be speaking a different language, and everywhere you look, people disagree about the future.

Here at Grindstone, we do our best to help investors focus on what really matters. Below is a compilation of information that we think will help you on your investing journey.


Understanding Technical Analysis: Support and Resistance

What is it that drives prices in the markets? Is it intrinsic value? The present value of future cash flows, the pace of earnings acceleration, dividend and buyback policies? Is it economic growth, interest rates, or manufacturing activity? Each of these plays an important role in building an investment outlook, but the truth is, they …

The Only 3 Reasons to Buy a Stock

If you’re in the market to make money, there are really only 3 reasons to buy a stock. Reason #1: The Stock is Currently Undervalued: “The stock price is currently below the value of the business it represents.” Defining ‘value’ can be a tricky thing. Intro to Finance 101 at any school in America teaches …

The Truth About Long-Term Returns – U.S. Bonds

Bonds are a staple of investment portfolios in the modern era. They don’t just help to offset the volatility associated with stocks. Since January 1926, an investment in long-term (20-year), risk-free U.S. Treasury bonds would have annualized at 5.70%. Nearly 6% per year from an investment guaranteed by the United States Government sounds like a …

The Truth About Long-Term Stock Market Returns

Since the inception of the S&P 500 in 1928, stocks have delivered an outstanding annualized return of 10%. You read that right. Ten percent per year. To everyone with a 90-year time horizon that invested all their money in a zero-fee, tax-free, and non-existent index fund, then rode out the turmoil of the Great Depression, …

The Truth About Long-Term Stock Market Returns, Part 2: A History of Dollar Cost Averaging

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more popular and effective strategy than dollar cost averaging. Its virtues have been extolled by everyone from legendary value investor Benjamin Graham, to random walk pioneer Burton Malkiel. And by design, many savers are doing it already – retirement funds are withheld from weekly or monthly paychecks and invested straight-away. But how well has DCA actually worked for U.S. equity investors? The answer depends on both their luck, and perseverance.