Retirement Watch Weekly
Reasons to Buy Stocks
There are a lot of reasons floating around for people not to buy stocks. In fact, there always is a powerful bearish case to be made about stocks. I know people who’ve built businesses and careers being bearish about stocks no matter how well the markets and economy were doing. The fact is it’s easier […]
High Tax, Low Tax States
State tax laws changed a lot the last few years. States responded differently to the financial crisis and its aftermath. Some raised taxes, while others cut taxes. Some did a little of both, creating new winners and losers. Here’s a survey of all 50 states by Bloomberg that states the per capital tax burden for […]
End of the Traditional Balanced Portfolio
Longtime readers know I’ve never been a fan of the traditional balanced portfolio, which generally is 60% stocks, 40% bonds. People have some variations, but there isn’t much practical difference. Among the problems with the traditional portfolio is that it really isn’t diversified. About 90% of the portfolio’s risk, volatility, and returns are tied to […]
The Slide in Emerging Market Stocks
World stock markets generally moved together since 2009. Since late 2012, however, emerging market stocks diverged from U.S. stocks. U.S. and other developed market stocks generally rose, while emerging market stocks declined. One reason for that is China’s economy slowed, and some fear it will slow further. But there’s more, says Sober Look. The blog […]
Where is Cash Being Invested?
Early in the year I reported to Retirement Watch readers that cash balances were extremely high. Many people and businesses made moves late in 2012 to avoid higher taxes they suspected could take effect in 2013. The moves generated a lot of cash from asset sales, special dividends, and the like. Money market funds and […]
Against Hedge Fund Investing
I recommend to Retirement Watch readers that a portion of their investment capital be in a long-term buy-and-hold portfolio that I call her “hedge fund” portfolio. This is a collection of mutual funds that use strategies similar to those used by the best hedge funds. The portfoio has done very well for us. But that […]
Retirement Isn’t All About Money
Long-time readers of Retirement Watch know this. It’s always helpful to be reminded that finances should be only a small part of your retirement planning. You have to find ways to fill all the time you used to spend working. The money part is to enable you to spend time in ways that you’ll enjoy […]
Lies About Tax-Exempt Bonds
Brokers of tax-exempt bonds habitually lie or mislead retail investors, said Ric Edelman of Edelman Financial Services. For a long time I’ve warned most individual investors against buying individual tax-exempt bonds. These are thin markets, so you can’t determine the value as readily as you can for major stocks. There are mark-ups that aren’t disclosed […]
