Show Notes
Episode 33: What if the biggest threat to your investment returns isn't picking the wrong stocks—but how you trade them? Many investors are drawn in by "free trading" and low expense ratios. But while your ETF or stock might be cheap—your trade might not be. Every time you go to market, you face explicit costs (like commissions and exchange fees) and implicit costs (like bid-ask spreads, market impact, and timing risk). Those costs don't disappear—they come directly out of the return you take home. A major theme is clarity around your top priorities: Price, Quantity, and Time (PQT). In trading, you can prioritize two—but rarely all three. If you demand immediate execution and a specific security, you'll likely sacrifice price. If you want the best price, you may need flexibility on timing or position size. Understanding what matters most in each trade—and in your overall strategy—can dramatically improve outcomes. Then there is the relationship between turnover and performance. Data consistently shows that higher portfolio turnover often leads to lower outperformance. More buying and selling means more friction. Even index funds can't avoid turnover entirely, but minimizing unnecessary trading reduces the hurdle your returns must overcome. In Episode 33 of The Informed Investor, Dimensional's Mark Gochnour, Head of Global Client Services, Jake DeKinder, Head of Client Communications, and Rob Harvey, Co-Head of Product Specialists, go beyond the mantra of "buy low, sell high" to show how trading costs can shape your long-term returns. They address common concerns about high-frequency trading, flash crashes, and market volatility. While markets have evolved to be more liquid and efficient—they note the importance of flexibility and discipline. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.
LINKS FROM TODAY'S EPISODE: The Informed Investor: Feedback Survey https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/informed-investor-survey "The Informed Investor" on YouTube [update with live link] Dimensional Fund Advisors Shorts on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@dimensionalfundadvisors/shorts Mark Gochnour on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-gochnour-9a23598a/ Jake DeKinder on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-d-4105b98/ Rob Harvey on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robkharvey/ Learn more at https://www.dimensional.com/
More from The Informed Investor
Episode 62: Happy Halloween—or is it? At this moment, some investors are probably chewing their fingernails down to nubs as they try to digest the latest frightening financial headlines. "Are Global Stock Markets Headed for a Crash?" "The American Dream of Owning a Home Is Out of Reach for Many as Mortgage Rates Soar (Again)" "The US Debt Tops a Record-Shattering $40 Trillion. Yes, with a T." Eek!! Those are actual headlines from recent articles in the financial media (and just a small sample). Hundreds more are just waiting to scare the bejabbers out of you. But as an investor, if you're worried about the current state of the stock and bond markets, the economy, or the latest geopolitical hot spots, headlines are the last place to look for reassurance. Many, if not most, are designed to make you afraid. The facts, on the other hand, will often do just the opposite. In Episode 62, a special Halloween episode of The Informed Investor podcast, Dimensional's Mark Gochnour, Head of Global Client Services, Wes Crill, Senior Client Solutions Director, and Jake DeKinder, Head of Client Communications, dress up … and then dress down the headline writers of America to help investors deflate the fear factor. LINKS FROM TODAY'S EPISODE: "Stay Calm: Learn to Embrace Uncertainty in Investing and Life" Order the new book by Dimensional Founder David Booth https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GPDHGH8K/?maas=maas_adg_2F97289929AB0BA26D806A1F81D55D66_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Subscribe to the Stay Calm Investing Newsletter https://www.staycalminvesting.com/newsletter?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor For US audiences: Select videos are available as part of an opportunity for CFP® and Investments & Wealth Institute® professionals to earn continuing education (CE) credits https://www.dimensional.com/financial-professionals/ce-credit-experience-d360?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor The Informed Investor: Feedback Survey https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/informed-investor-survey?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor "The Informed Investor" on YouTube The Informed Investor - YouTube Dimensional Fund Advisors Shorts on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@dimensionalfundadvisors/shorts Mark Gochnour on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-gochnour-9a23598a/ Wes Crill on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-crill-77a49417/ Jake DeKinder on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-d-4105b98/ Learn more at https://www.dimensional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor
Episode 61: The allure of index funds, such as broad diversification, low costs, and market-matching returns, may seem undeniable. But recent "reconstitution" in the indexes tracked by such funds tells a different story—one every investor should understand.
Episode 60: Every two years, millions of investors probably ask themselves (and their advisors) whether looming elections demand changes to their investment portfolios. It's an understandable sentiment—and one that demands discussion. But the most important conclusion from these conversations should never change: Since the data doesn't show any strong connection between election results and stock market performance, it's best to vote with your ballot, not your portfolio. No matter how you slice, dice, or take a hatchet to the data, factor in your own political proclivities, or scream about what you think is totally wrong or right about the candidates, market prices have already incorporated all that information (and thousands of other developments, including numerous economic indicators) as investors consider what to do next. This is a well-researched theory of how capital markets work. The implication is that the stock market doesn't really care what you think about this year's midterm elections or the next presidential horse race. Need supporting evidence? Fourteen of 17 presidential terms since 1929, across administrations with both Democratic and Republican chief executives, ended with positive returns for the S&P 500 Index. (S&P data © 2026 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global.) Investors shouldn't ignore elections, of course. But their portfolios may benefit from standing pat as politics rile and emotions rock and roll. In Episode 60 of The Informed Investor podcast, Dimensional's Mark Gochnour, Head of Global Client Services, Wes Crill, Senior Client Solutions Director, and Jake DeKinder, Head of Client Communications, interrogate common myths about the impact of elections on markets and offer sensible answers as investors head to the polls. LINKS FROM TODAY'S EPISODE: "Stay Calm: Learn to Embrace Uncertainty in Investing and Life" Order the new book by Dimensional Founder David Booth https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GPDHGH8K/?maas=maas_adg_2F97289929AB0BA26D806A1F81D55D66_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Subscribe to the Stay Calm Investing Newsletter https://www.staycalminvesting.com/newsletter?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor The Informed Investor: Feedback Survey https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/informed-investor-survey?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor "The Informed Investor" on YouTube The Informed Investor - YouTube Dimensional Fund Advisors Shorts on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@dimensionalfundadvisors/shorts Mark Gochnour on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-gochnour-9a23598a/ Wes Crill on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-crill-77a49417/ Jake DeKinder on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-d-4105b98/ Learn more at https://www.dimensional.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor For US audiences: Select videos are available as part of an opportunity for CFP® and Investments & Wealth Institute® professionals to earn continuing education (CE) credits https://www.dimensional.com/financial-professionals/ce-credit-experience-d360?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=informed_investor
Episode 59: What happens when you rethink how financial advice is delivered—and how an industry comes together?
Episode 58: Any financial professional who joined the industry a week after Black Monday—when the stock market suffered its biggest single-day loss—knows something about investment discipline.