The deck might be stacked against you, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

The insights in this post are drawn from “The Unbeatable Market: Taking the Indexing Path to Financial Peace of Mind,” a comprehensive analysis of why traditional investment approaches fail and what actually works, by Premier founder, principal, and advisor Ron Ross, PhD. 

There’s a Better Way

Here’s something every investor should know: Some long-standing practices in the industry can unintentionally add extra layers of cost. While marketing often highlights impressive performance figures, these practices can sometimes reduce the portion of returns that actually stays with investors. That said, investing always carries risk, and no strategy can guarantee specific outcomes.

Here’s how:

  • Complex fee structures: Many actively managed funds carry average expense ratios of around 1.4%, along with additional transaction costs, market-impact expenses, and tax inefficiencies. These can be hard for investors to see clearly on statements and may reduce long-term net returns.
  • Frequent trading: Some funds have portfolio turnover rates above 100% a year — effectively replacing their holdings every few months. Such frequent trading can lead to higher costs and may limit long-term performance.
  • The “persistence” challenge: It’s common to highlight top-performing funds from the previous year, but research has shown that past performance rarely persists. Selecting funds based solely on recent results often leads to disappointment.
  • Investor behavior under stress: Emotions like fear and excitement can influence investment decisions, sometimes prompting investors to buy during market highs and sell during downturns. Over time, this behavior can result in returns that lag broad market benchmarks.
  • Unnecessary complexity: The industry sometimes presents simple investment concepts in ways that seem more complicated than necessary. This can make it harder for investors to focus on core principles such as cost control and diversification.
  • Reporting bias: Industry statistics often focus on the funds that survive, while those that close or merge are left out of the data. This “survivorship bias” can give the impression of a stronger long-term track record than what most investors actually experienced.

Actively managed strategies may involve total annual costs of around 3–4%, including management fees, trading expenses, and tax effects, which are typically higher than those of many passive approaches. For a $500,000 portfolio, that difference can add up to $15,000–$20,000 each year that might otherwise stay invested and working for you.

The good news? There’s a fundamentally better approach based on decades of financial research.

The Evidence-Based Alternative: What Actually Works

The solution isn’t to get better at picking stocks or timing markets. It’s to embrace what the evidence clearly shows works for long-term wealth building.

Core Principles of Successful Investing

Markets are remarkably efficient. Stock prices quickly incorporate all available information, making it nearly impossible to consistently identify mispriced securities. Rather than fighting this reality, smart investors work with it.

Diversification is your most powerful tool. True diversification means owning thousands of stocks across different asset classes, company sizes, and geographies, not just picking 10 to 15 “good” companies.

Costs compound dramatically over time. A 1% difference in annual fees becomes a 22% difference in wealth over 25 years. Minimizing costs through low-fee index funds is one of the most reliable, evidence-based ways to improve your returns.

Time in the market beats timing the market. Consistent, long-term investing in diversified portfolios has historically delivered superior results compared to any market-timing strategy.

The Premier Fiduciary+ Approach

At Premier Financial Group, we’ve built our entire practice around these evidence-based principles, going beyond traditional fiduciary standards with what we call Fiduciary+: a commitment that extends far beyond basic legal requirements.

Transparent, Evidence-Based Investing

  • Globally diversified portfolios through institutional-quality DFA funds
  • Fully disclosed and regularly reviewed costs
  • We invest our own assets the same way we recommend for clients
  • No proprietary products or commissioned sales

True Partnership and Advocacy

  • Direct access to experienced professionals with prompt responses
  • Comprehensive wealth management, including tax, estate, and charitable planning
  • Collaborative, team-based support for continuity and shared knowledge

Honest Expectations and Long-Term Focus

  • No promises to “beat the market” or offer unrealistic returns
  • Coaching on reasonable expectations tailored to your goals and timeline
  • Emphasis on tax-efficient strategies to maximize after-tax returns
  • Assets safeguarded through third-party custody at Charles Schwab

Why This Approach Works

Our focus on capturing market returns while minimizing costs and taxes has some other powerful advantages:

  • Predictable outcomes: While we can’t predict short-term market movements, we can predict that broad diversification and low costs will work in your favor over time.
  • Peace of mind: No more agonizing over fund selection, manager changes, or performance chasing. Your portfolio is designed to capture whatever returns the global economy delivers.
  • Tax efficiency: Low portfolio turnover and strategic tax management keep more of your returns working for you instead of going to the IRS.
  • Scalable and sustainable: The strategy works whether you have $100,000 or $10 million, and doesn’t depend on finding the next star manager. 

The Freedom to Focus on What Matters

When you shift from trying to outguess the market to following evidence-based investing principles, something important happens: you gain more time and energy to focus on the priorities that truly matter in your life.

Instead of feeling the need to constantly track market movements, pick funds, or second-guess whether your strategy is aligned with your goals, you can devote that attention to your family, career, health, and personal interests. That’s the real value of this approach — it aims to bring more clarity and confidence, not just potentially stronger long-term outcomes.

Knowing that your financial plan is grounded in well-researched principles rather than short-term speculation can help you feel more at ease and stay focused on what’s most meaningful to you.

Premier Financial Group has been helping clients build wealth through market-tested strategies for over two decades. Learn more about evidence-based investing and the Fiduciary+ approach by contacting us today.