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‘Sell in May and Go Away’ and Other Bad Advice
Tweet Share on Facebook August 31, 2012 CommentLet’s face it: Dubious trading tips get a lot of investors in trouble.
Please take particular note of the word I choose to use there—investors.
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How Much Employer Stock Should You Own?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 30, 2012 CommentLoyalty, these days, seems to be a rare commodity. But there seems to be one area where people still remain loyal: owning stock of their employer. Whether it’s General Electric or Procter & Gamble, employees of large and strong companies love them some employer stock. Is this seemingly rational (or emotional) notion a good idea? If so, how much of your employer stock should you own in your portfolio?
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Don't Make These 3 Retirement Mistakes
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2012 CommentThe day has come. You attend the retirement party. They hand you the golden cufflinks or the gold watch, stuff you full of hors d’oeuvres, and send riding you off into the sunset. From now on, you’re going to sit on the porch, drink lemonade, and watch the world go by.
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Investors: Look Past Politics
Tweet Share on Facebook August 27, 2012 CommentRemember when politicians allowed us to enjoy the last few weeks of summer and waited until Labor Day before launching their full-fledged fall election campaigns? The old way only seemed fair. Come September, the kids trudged back to school, and we adults stopped reading August’s silly-season news stories about daring pet rescues and celebrity faux pas and started focusing on the serious business of evaluating candidates for public office.
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You Are Not an Index. Don’t Try to Act Like One!
Tweet Share on Facebook August 24, 2012 CommentIf you find yourself scratching your head and wondering why your portfolio is not keeping up with the indexes this year, you’re not alone. Many portfolio managers’ returns are behind their benchmarks. The main reason, I propose, is that every professional manager I know has some doubt in the back of their mind as to how the U.S. (as well as the rest of the world) will manage the massive amount of debt accumulated in recent years. Everyone should understand that too much government debt is never a good thing and rarely, if ever, ends well. I will not attempt to offer a solution, but rather an idea for investors to consider while we wait for political leaders around the world to begin making fiscally responsible decisions. If your portfolio return for the quarter or the year is below the benchmark, then take a look at your benchmark. If you are using the Dow Jones Industrial index, the S&P 500, or any of the other indexes, it is important to understand that these indexes don’t include an allocation to cash-an option open to wary managers.
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President Obama Could Manage His Personal Finances Better
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2012 CommentRecently, President Barack Obama told a crowd that it took him thirteen years to pay off his law school loans. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991 and paid off his law school loans in 2004.
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6 Steps to Your 'Personal Pension'
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2012 CommentAre we seeing the unraveling of the American Dream? You work hard, raise a family, save money, and plan to retire comfortably with a reliable pension. But in the age of disappearing pensions and empty promises, you need to set aside part of your retirement savings into a “personal pension plan.”
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4 Financial 'To-Do's' for Right Now
Tweet Share on Facebook August 22, 2012 CommentThe title of this article is about as close to the shouting and ranting of CNBC’s Jim Cramer as I get. Rather, here are some timely and timeless tasks for your financial to-do list.
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Why Investors Shouldn't Worry About the Next 10 Years
Tweet Share on Facebook August 22, 2012 CommentThere are a lot of things for investors to be worried about these days.
What if Obama is re-elected? What if he isn’t?
What if buy and hold is dead? What if there are more flash crashes?
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Don't Miss Your 2012 Money Deadlines
Tweet Share on Facebook August 21, 2012 CommentIt’s only August, but the rest of 2012 will fly by. Before you know it, we’ll be talking about budgeting for 2013, New Year’s resolutions and snow-day retirement planning.
Don’t let 2012 pass you by without noting some important deadlines.
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