Planning for retirement isn’t always just basic math. Too many people plan with the aid of a retirement calculator, without understanding the inputs that go into these ultra-important calculations.
Sweat the Details
Planning for retirement requires that investors make assumptions about the future, with one of the most important being the expected return of their investment portfolio.
However, [...]
What a Retirement Calculator Won’t Tell You
Why Gold Should Be in Every Retirement Plan
Never have precious metals earned so much respect among investors. Financial advisers are suggesting precious metals to their clients, while TV commercials boast about the performance of gold and silver over the past decade – and it’s all for one very good reason. While stocks were in the dumps, gold and other precious metals stamped [...]
Could Real Estate Be the Investment for 2010?
Though down and out following the collapse of the bubble in 2007, real estate could be back in vogue as an investment. Lower prices, lower interest rates and an improving economic climate could set the stage for another great boom in real estate investing.
Real Estate as an Investment in 2010
Anyone who has watched the [...]
A New Diversification: Tax Diversification
Taxes, taxes, taxes: those three words have thus far defined the campaign trail, as hundreds of members of government are up for re-election this year. However, taxes aren’t just important to your government, nor your paycheck, but to your retirement plan as well.
Diversifying Your Tax Risk
Tax diversification has nothing to do with anything illegal [...]
What Post-Stimulus Chinese Inflation Means for Your Investments
Following the release of $585 billion into infrastructure investments, China’s economy has bounced back quicker and with more force than any other economy in the world. However, with so much capital flooding the infrastructure sector and trickling into many others, inflation remains a consistent threat.
The Origin of Inflation
Much of the record high inflation numbers involves [...]
The Great Fixed Income Bubble
Inflows into fixed income during the financial crisis of 2008-2009 have continued even through the first two months of 2010. However, investors won’t appreciate low rates indefinitely, and it appears that the next bubble may be in one of the world’s safest investments: bonds.
Why Bonds are Bubbling
Bond yields trade inversely to the face value of [...]
One Loophole Your 401k Provider Doesn’t Want You to Know About
401k programs are notorious for offering very few, yet expensive, options for their clients. However, one loophole may save you thousands of dollars per year and let you have more control over your retirement plan.
The Self-Directed Brokerage Window
A small but growing minority of 401k providers now offer their clients a self-directed brokerage window, allowing [...]
Why China Won’t Bubble Over
As real estate prices soar in the Chinese mainland, analysts around the world are yet again calling Chinese stocks a bubble. However, sky-high real estate prices aren’t always indicative of a bubble, and the fundamentals driving China’s economy higher have never been stronger.
China vs. the United States
The real estate bubble in the U.S. is [...]
Does Greece Spell Trouble for the EU?
Concerns over Greece’s debt troubles have left a wake of losses in emerging market funds and currencies like the Euro and British Pound; however, it looks like most of the worries may have been overblown.
Measuring Greece’s Influence
The magnitude of Greece’s mounting government debt cannot be understood until we understand Greece’s economic impact on [...]
