Why Simplicity Is a Hard Sell for Investors

Canadian Couch Potato recently overhauled his portfolio to switch to a three-fund portfolio, but he got emails from his unconvinced readers. To explain why simple is still a hard sell, Canadian Couch Potato cited some insights from Ben Carlson’s book, A Wealth of Common Sense. Carlson observed that, “I’ve spent my entire career working in portfolio management. This experience has taught me that less is always more when making investment decisions. Simplicity trumps complexity.” Carlson also explained that “trying harder does not mean doing better in the financial markets. In fact, trying harder is probably one of the easiest ways to achieve below average performance.”