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Pioneers of Probability: Girolamo Cardano It's 1550, and a physician in Milan has a problem. He's brilliant — one of the most famous doctors in Europe. He's also broke. Again. Because Girolamo Cardano cannot stop gambling. Cards, dice, chess — he plays them all, almost every day, for decades. He loses the family estate. He pawns his wife's jewelry. And somewhere between the bad bets and the borrowed money, he starts to notice something. The dice aren't random. Not really. They follow rules. Welcome to Pioneers of Probability. ifa.com/videos/pioneer…

Pessimism about markets always sounds more intelligent. But decades of data tell a different story — one that's easy to forget when headlines turn dark. #LongTermInvesting #Investing #PersonalFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Crowds can be remarkably wise — until they start copying each other. One author pinpointed the moment collective intelligence turns into collective risk. #BehavioralFinance #Investing #FinancialEducation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

The math of investing costs is simple — and unforgiving. One of the industry's most respected voices put it in terms that are hard to argue with. #Investing #FinancialEducation #PersonalFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

"I'll invest when things settle down." It's one of the most common plans in finance — and can be one of the most expensive. Here's what the waiting actually costs. #Investing #BehavioralFinance #LongTermInvesting For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Your savings account balance doesn’t drop — which is why it feels safe. But there's a risk most people don't see until it can cost them. #Investing #PersonalFinance #FinancialEducation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Pioneers of Probability: Leonardo Fibonacci It's the year 1200. You're a merchant in Pisa, one of the busiest Ports in the Mediterranean. You need to split a shipment of pepper between three buyers, convert Florentine coins to Genoese pounds, and calculate your profit before the tide turns. Your tools? Roman Numerals. ifa.com/videos/pioneer… DISCLOSURES: This video is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any security. The historical and mathematical concepts discussed are intended to illustrate the development of probability theory and its relevance to investing. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The S&P 500 return data cited reflects a specific historical period (1926-2026) with dividends reinvested and does not account for taxes, fees, or inflation; it should not be interpreted as a forecast of future returns. The examples provided are hypothetical and based on historical index data, not an actual investment. Index returns do not reflect the performance of any actual portfolio or the deduction of advisory fees. Content is AI assisted. Index Fund Advisors, Inc. is a registered investment adviser. For additional information, please visit adviserinfo.sec.gov or ifa.com.

Alternative investments often come with higher fees, longer lock-ups, and an air of exclusivity. But when researchers looked at the actual returns, the VIP section looked surprisingly familiar. #Investing #FinancialEducation #PersonalFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Good investing rarely feels good when you're doing it. The decisions that look brilliant in hindsight often share one thing in common at the time. #Investing #PersonalFinance #BehavioralFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Quote shown for illustrative purposes; no endorsement implied.

We associate investment success with intelligence, forecasting, and insight. One of the most experienced voices in the industry locates it somewhere else entirely. #Investing #LongTermInvesting #FinancialEducation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Quote shown for illustrative purposes; no endorsement implied.

Hedge funds and private equity feel like the big leagues. But when a billion-dollar foundation reviewed its own results, the numbers were surprisingly ordinary. #Investing #FinancialEducation #PersonalFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

New investors focus on picking winners. Experienced investors tend to focus on something far less exciting — but far more important. #LongTermInvesting #Investing #FinancialEducation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Quote shown for illustrative purposes; no endorsement implied.

Market forecasters sound confident. But when researchers tracked thousands of their predictions, the results were humbling — nearly every single one of them. #Investing #BehavioralFinance #FinancialEducation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Knowing when to get out of the market feels like a valuable skill. History has a different view of how well investors fare when they try to time it. #Investing #LongTermInvesting #BehavioralFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Quote shown for illustrative purposes; no endorsement implied.

Private equity is widely believed by some to deliver superior returns. But one researcher argues the way those returns are measured may be distorting what investors think they're getting. #Investing #FinancialEducation #AssetAllocation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

When inflation rises, buying "something real" feels like common sense. But the data on commodities as an inflation hedge tells a very different story. #Investing #FinancialEducation #PersonalFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

The Papers that Changed Investing: False Discoveries in Mutual Fund Performance It's 2010. The US economy is clawing back from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Affordable Care Act reshapes American healthcare, and Apple launches the iPad. In the world of investing, one question is finally getting a rigorous answer: of the thousands of mutual funds competing for investor assets, how many beat the market through genuine skill — and how many simply got lucky? Three researchers — Laurent Barras of the Swiss Finance Institute, Olivier Scaillet of HEC-University of Geneva, and Russ Wermers of the University of Maryland — publish a paper in the Journal of Finance with an answer that makes for uncomfortable reading. Welcome to The Papers That Changed Investing. ifa.com/videos/tptci-v… DISCLOSURES: This video is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The research discussed — "False Discoveries in Mutual Fund Performance: Measuring Luck in Estimated Alphas" by Laurent Barras, Olivier Scaillet, and Russ Wermers, published in The Journal of Finance in 2010 — is presented to help investors understand academic findings related to mutual fund performance measurement and the statistical challenge of distinguishing genuine skill from luck. Findings reflect the authors' research and do not constitute predictions of future performance. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and investment returns are not guaranteed. This content was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Index Fund Advisors, Inc. is a registered investment advisor. For regulatory information, please visit adviserinfo.sec.gov. For more information about IFA and its investment approach, please visit ifa.com.

A more complex portfolio can feel more sophisticated, more serious, more professional. But there may be a simpler explanation for why the industry keeps adding moving parts. #Investing #FinancialEducation #PersonalFinance For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Quote shown for illustrative purposes; no endorsement implied.

Traditional finance built its models on a particular assumption about human behaviour. Behavioural finance disagrees — and the difference changes everything. #BehavioralFinance #Investing #FinancialEducation For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Quote shown for illustrative purposes; no endorsement implied.