Over two years ago Fidelity Investments began offering several index or passive, no-fee mutual funds. The two main funds track indices of the entire domestic stock market and all of the international stock markets. No-fee funds have the potential to increase your investment returns. Management and administration fees otherwise reduce the fund’s return. At the […]
The Department of Labor recently abandoned its fiduciary duty rule for retirement advisers. The Department was responding to a recent Court of Appeals decision overturning the rule completely. So what does this mean for you and your investments if you are working with (or plan to work with) an advisor? Make sure you know the […]
Congress recently enacted changes to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) that will give federal retirees flexibility to withdraw money from their accounts. These changes are helpful. But getting your TSP money will still not be as flexible as in the private sector. In the private section, IRA distributions can be made in different amounts, at […]
Creative use of a reverse mortgage line of credit can make your retirement more secure. Recent scholarship suggests that opening a reverse mortgage line of credit and not using it until it is necessary, if at all, creates the most downside protection if you run short of retirement savings. This strategy allows the line of […]
Helene, a soon to be single retiree, lamented the other day that she wished she had saved more. She didn’t have a pension and she was delaying claiming Social Security because she had longevity in her genes. She felt she was going to have to sell her condo (on which she still had about a […]
Here’s an easy way to determine the minimum size of your emergency fund. It is a quick and dirty way that should stand you in good stead. The purpose of an emergency fund is to have money available in case of unexpected expenses. By dipping into the emergency fund to pay them, you don’t have […]
Portfolios of Fidelity and Vanguard stock index funds topped the 2015 performance of portfolios of actively managed funds recommended by Kiplingers, Money, and Forbes. The Fidelity portfolio’s 2015 real return topped Kiplinger’s by 0.66%, Money’s by 1.85%, and Forbes’ by 2.29%. This analysis shows that even the experts often miss picking stock funds to beat the market. […]
When do you rebalance your retirement accounts? You have chosen and implemented an asset allocation (the percentage of stocks and bonds in your portfolio) that matches your desired risk and reward level. But you just received your year-end retirement account statement. The weighting of each asset class in your portfolio has changed! What happened? Over […]
The Obama Administration proposed this summer to impose a fiduciary duty on financial advisors that provide retirement advice. This duty includes the duties of due care, loyalty, and utmost good faith when advising a client. This proposal puts investors’ retirement interests first rather than the profit interest of the advisor selling a financial product that may […]
You often can find a better Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) Plan, a Part D Prescription Drug Plan, or a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan if you shop every year. You don’t necessarily need to switch plans, but you can use these tips to ensure your current coverage is still appropriate at the lowest cost. Take […]
