Category Archives for Financial Education & News
Financial Quick Takes: Making Mistakes
Nobody wants to make investment mistakes. And yet, we’re human; mistakes happen. Here’s how to minimize the ones that matter the most, and make the most of the ones that remain.Bad Decisions vs. Bad
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Do Downturns Lead to Down Years?
Stock market slides over a few days or months may lead investors to anticipate a down year. But the US stock market had positive returns, despite some notable dips in many of those years. Intrayear declines
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Sizing Up the Bond Market
When you go shopping for pants, do you buy one pair in every size available? Most people do not, presumably because only one size is the most appropriate fit.1For many investors, bond portfolios should
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Stock Gains Can Add Up after Big Declines
Sudden market downturns can be unsettling. But historically, US equity returns following sharp declines have, on average, been positive. A broad market index tracking data since 1926 in the US shows that
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Help Your Child Become a Millionaire (Tax-Free, Too!)
In 1716, Christopher Bullock wrote, “Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but death and taxes.” Two centuries later, researchers keep trying to disprove the first, while Washington DC seems intent
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Here’s How to Shock-Proof Your Retirement Plan
Dad was several years older than Mom, and toward the end of their lives, in poorer health than hers. I tried asking Mom if they had plans in place to take care of her when dad passed away.For obvious emotional
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What are Active ETFs?
Actively managed ETFs were first launched in the U.S. in 2008 offering benefits previously unavailable to investors. But their popularity remained limited until 2019 due to portfolio disclosure requirements
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Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA: Which Should You Choose?
Should you contribute to a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA?What we refer to today as a traditional IRA (Individual Retirement Account) came into existence in the ‘70s as part of the Employee Retirement
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Practicing Healthy Habits, Pursuing Wealthy Outcomes
Investing and health can be two of the most important things in life, but sometimes they also can be the most confusing. There’s so much data and advice, so many articles—and unfortunately, they often
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Part 3: A Balanced Look at Stock Buybacks
Risks Amidst the RewardsIn our last piece, click here we summarized the ways a successful stock buyback can deliver powerful, tax-efficient value to shareholders, without stunting future growth. But stock
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Why Social Security Timing Isn’t About Maximizing Lifetime Benefits
Social Security is a critical part of making retirement even somewhat affordable for many Americans.According to Fool.com, Social Security can replace over half of career-average wages for low-income Americans,
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Part 2: A Balanced Look at Stock Buybacks
Sustaining Current and Future ValueIn our last piece, click here, we explained how stock buybacks generally work, and why we prefer investing in a globally diversified investment portfolio over chasing
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Let the Compounding Commence!
Every year, families and friends celebrate students who are graduating from colleges and universities. Parents beam with pride at their children’s accomplishments and exhale in relief now that the tuition
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Part 1: A Balanced Look at Stock Buybacks
How Do Stock Buybacks Work?Stock buybacks—i.e., a company repurchasing shares of its own stock—have been targets for praise and criticism through the years. So, which are they: good or evil? We agree
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Part 2: What’s Wrong with Depending on Dividend Stocks?
Dividend Stocks vs. Total Return InvestingIn Part 1 of “What’s Wrong With Depending on Dividend Stocks?” we described why dividend investing—or, stocking up on stocks with a reputation for consistently
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Part 1: What’s Wrong with Depending on Dividend Stocks?
How Dividend Stocks Really WorkThere’s a popular perception that “dividend stocks”—i.e., stocks with a reputation for paying out consistent dividends—can deliver decent returns, while also creating
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The Stock Market vs. Stocks in the Market
The collapse of First Republic Bank is a harsh reminder that any stock can go to zero, no matter how established a company is, or how loyal and wealthy its customers are. The failure of what many considered
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Your Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) – What You Need to Know
If you work for a publicly-traded company, your employer may offer you the chance to buy shares of your company’s stock through a program called an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The idea behind
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How Targeting Size, Value, and Profitability Can Improve Retirement Outcomes
Many retirement investors hold equity portfolios that track broad market indices, either directly or through other investments such as target date funds. Despite their widespread popularity, market portfolios
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10 Obstacles to Investing—and How to Overcome Them
We’ve learned a lot about investing over the past 60 years, a period that has seen many breakthroughs in the world of finance. What we know comes from studying public markets and is grounded in serious
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Use a 529 Plan to Save for College (and Save Thousands of Dollars)
Talking with a friend who has four kids, I suggested he look into using 529 plans for their college savings. I’m not sure if he ended up following the advice, but my guesstimate is that it would have
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Value’s Rebound Rewarded Investors Who Stayed in Their Seats
Value’s recent turnaround has rewarded investors who remained disciplined following its prolonged slump. In addition to reminding us how quickly premiums can show up, the past few years reinforce an
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What Happens to Your 401(k) When You Quit Your Job?
It was the end of 2008. After a long time contemplating it, I finally pulled the trigger.I gave my supervisor my resignation letter. It was past time to go elsewhere. It was probably the second-best professional
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Single-Stock ETFs: The Worst of Both Worlds?
Investors awaiting ETFs with as few stocks as possible are in luck: Single-stock ETFs have arrived on the scene, providing leveraged or inverse exposure to individual names such as Tesla, NVIDIA, Nike,
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5 Simple Steps to Invest for Your Retirement
Would you like to increase your odds of enjoying a comfortable retirement? If you already set aside money from every paycheck for long-term savings, you’re off to a good start. But to really turn the
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Active Management Hasn’t Shined in Volatile Markets
Many investors have likely heard the adage that active management performs better in times of market turbulence. This may sound like an emotional hedge for market stress akin to betting against your favorite
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3 Tips to Save More Money and Reduce Your Money Stress
You’ve heard before that you have to set money aside — money for emergencies, for buying a car or house, for a kid’s college education, and for retirement. This is hardly news. What you may not have
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Hoop Dreaming Is Fun in March. Investing Realities Apply across a Lifetime.
Every year at this time, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament thrills fans and creates so much interest that it’s estimated one in four Americans filled out a bracket to try to predict who will win
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What Are Liquid Alternatives?
Liquid alternatives (or “alts” for short) are investment vehicles that are thought to provide diversification benefits to traditional portfolios made up of stocks and bonds. They often come in the
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How to Invest Better—and Live Better
It can be challenging to start a conversation about investing. That’s why I encourage having a conversation before the investing conversation—what I like to think of as a “preamble.” Connecting
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