Got enough money for retirement? Do you know how you'll create your retirement paycheck? How do you turn that 401(k) or IRA into a sustainable stream of income? Now's the time to go back to school and learn a lesson or two from the Big Boys and be like Harvard. Whether or not you went to an Ivy League school like Harvard, you sure can invest like you did. One thing that Harvard and a retiree ... Read More
Risk Management
Retirees: Your Asset Allocation Should Be More Tactical
Amid the ruins of the last market meltdown of 2008-2009, you'll find the finance theory of Asset Allocation and the idea that all an investor needs to do is 'Buy and Hold.' As good and practical as that advice is, it was awfully hard to avoid the emotional panic created by such an extreme. So investors and financial advisers like me were put to the test about our beliefs in the idea of 'efficient ... Read More
The End of QE: How to Protect Your Portfolio from Higher Interest Rates
The end of QE is here so how do you as an investor protect your portfolio from higher interest rates? Is your Quantitative Easing ship going to come into a safe harbor or are stormy seas ahead? Consumers are undeniably feeling modestly better because of the “wealth effect” resulting from increasing property prices and stock markets and continued low mortgage interest rates. Consumer confidence is ... Read More
Weak US Dollar Impact for Investors
What does a weak US dollar imply for our economy and how should investors position themselves? Weak is a relative term when it comes to the economy. Reading the tea leaves can provide some insight about what to expect in the near term and how investors need to respond. Setting aside political views about whether it is a good or bad thing to have a "weak" currency, let's take a look at what's ... Read More
Debt Ceiling Crisis: What Investors Should Do
Investment Forecast: Cloudy with chance of default and variable recession. Trying to read the tea leaves and make prudent investment decisions for clients - or yourself - has been complicated by the headwinds out of Washington lately. The debt ceiling crisis exposes investors to a real risk of loss. Crystal Ball Predictions Depending on how you read your crystal ball, any and all of the ... Read More
Better International Investing Tips
Better international investing, like all investing, starts with a plan and not just a tip from a friend. Investors are always on the lookout for the 'Holy Grail' in investing. I'm often asked 'what's hot?' There's a tendency in human behavior and certainly in behavioral finance to go where the crowd goes based on the idea that collectively there's safety in numbers and "they" must know something ... Read More
401k Hardship Distribution for Medical Expenses
Ask the Money Coach: My mother got into a car accident and can not make decisions on her own. I am currently her power of attorney. How can I cash out her 401K to pay for her expenses? She has been out for over a week and doctors expect her to be disabled for quite some time. I need help to pay for everything so how can I get access to her 401k? Response from Boston Money Coach: Please ... Read More
Reducing Your Investment Risk
Let's talk about risk for a second. What's it mean to you? Is it the loss of your money or maybe it's the lost chance to make some. Everyone has a different way to define and measure it shaped in large part by our experiences and family history. Now, when I talk about risk with a client I explain that I think it's the chance of not meeting your goals. Intuitively, we all understand that ... Read More
Secrets to Long Term Investing Success
Portfolio Management Secrets of a Successful Investor Investors Ask: How do I improve my investment performance? We're all familiar with the disclosure at the end of all the commercials and print ads: Past Performance Is No Guarantee of Future Results. If that's true, then how can you be sure that someone is doing better than the market? Well, the short answer is: You Can't. But there ... Read More
Protecting Your Overseas Investments with Currency ETFs
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have been growing in popularity with investors and their advisers. They offer low costs and opportunities to more precisely create an asset allocation or take advantage of trading and hedging ideas. Currency Exchange Traded Funds have grown popular over the course of 2011 to investors who are attempting to gain exposure to foreign currency while avoiding the cost ... Read More
