Most investors would like to forget March 2020. Times of uncertainty and market stress, however, have reinforced three investing fundamentals. Remembering these fundamentals will help keep your investment goals on track. 1. Vast uncertainty causes dramatic and quick stock price movements. For the 12 months prior to March 2020, the US stock market, as measured […]
Price volatility – larger ups and downs – returned to the US stock market during the first quarter of 2018. These unpredictable and unexpected sizable movements can make investors wary. But they give some not-so-gentle reminders to do a few things: tune out the daily stock market noise understand the market doesn’t just move on […]
Tony Robbins’ describes ideal investor behaviors in “Money Master the Game” that can maximize your investment performance. The book’s first half centers on the tasks and new habits you should follow to achieve financial freedom. New habits like setting up automatic savings and eliminating unnecessary expenses. The second half of the book relays the investment […]
There seems to be a never-ending stream of evidence that high mutual fund fees depress fund performance and hurt investors’ return. The most recent article in the popular press explains why high mutual fees can hurt performance. Two interesting facts stick out. 1. Mutual fund fees make the difference between under- and over-performing a benchmark. With […]
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 […]
Try to do at least three things from this year-end financial checklist. Doing so will tidy up your 2015 finances and start your 2016 on the right financial foot. 1. Don’t leave money on the table. If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) for health care expenses or dependent care, and you haven’t used […]
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 just received your third quarter investment statement showing your portfolio’s performance. You have a loss for the quarter or year to date. Or perhaps you review your investment accounts online and some of them are showing a loss. And you think, the son of a gun financial planner didn’t say I’d have a loss….. […]
The conventional wisdom is that many young professionals don’t need permanent life insurance. The reasons include the high cost compared to term life insurance and the temporary need for life insurance during the time they are paying down the mortgage and saving for college educations. But permanent life insurance may be appropriate as part of […]
