Whether you are a retiree or an investor accumulating for a goal, you probably have fixed income assets in your portfolio - at least you should. With the prospect of higher interest rates on the radar, investors need to consider bond ETFs to hedge interest rate risk. Over the past several months yields on 10-year Treasuries have been ticking up. In the past month alone, this key benchmark rate ... Read More
bonds
A Better Mousetrap for Income – Bond Ladders Part 2
Bonds are not the stodgy, boring things that most investors think of even though there's no army of talking heads on financial news shows talking about them. They are a huge market (about double the value of stocks as noted in my last post). They are an essential part of our economy. Most companies cannot function without easy access to credit. In fact, the shock and uncertainty that followed ... Read More
A Better Mousetrap for Income – Building Your Bond Ladder – Part 1
Investors are always looking for the next big thing. By the amount of time and energy devoted to talking heads divining tea leaves and spouting stock tips on news programs, cable TV and the internet, you would think that the only market that counts is the US stock market. In fact, the global bond market actually dwarfs the stock market by a factor of two to one. According to the December 2010 ... Read More
Ask the Adviser: Why Should I Rollover My 401k From My Old Job?
There are many valid reasons to consider a 401k rollover. Costs While it may not seem like it, you are paying for your funds to stay with your old employer’s sponsored plan. You just don’t see it. Fees for employer plans are not very transparent. While you may not see an actual bill, your employer is probably paying for the administration of the plan through hidden fees assessed on the ... Read More
Watership Down, Thanksgiving Turkey, Retirement, Risk and Modern Finance
What could possibly link the children's story of Watership Down, Thanksgiving turkey and retirement investing risks? Well, my mind works in strange ways (just ask my wife and I'm sure my 15-month old Spencer agrees as well). Buy and Hold - A Broken Promise? After all the troubles in the stock market and in financial markets in general over the past couple of years, I was recently rereading an ... Read More
Ask the Adviser: What are the biggest issues new retirees tend to underestimate?
It's easy to get tripped up in retirement. I'm reminded of the expression by the octogenarian to the recent newlywed fretting about life but rejecting out of hand the advice of his experienced senior: A long time ago I was where you are now. And later you'll be where I am now. But just as you haven't been your age before, I've never been old before. So for new retirees who "not been there or ... Read More
How to Ride a Bond Bubble and Survive a Secular Bear Market
After the Dow Industrials reached their peak on October 9, 2007, there was a long, painful decline to the trough reached on March 9, 2009. During that time the DJIA lost 54% but was followed by a rally of 70%. Even with this spectacular run up through 2009, the index never reached it peak. While closer now after a good 2010 it, the peak is still a long climb up the mountain. In fact, to break ... Read More
Inflation and the Rising Tide: Protecting Your Assets
For individuals in retirement living on a fixed income, it can devastate one’s savings and lifestyle. As a bond or CD-holder, the purchasing power of regular interest income gets hit. As a stock investor, stock prices can suffer as profit margins and earnings of your equity holdings are hurt by the higher costs for inputs like energy, precious metals and labor. Right now, Wall Street is in a ... Read More
