The first exchange traded fund (ETF) was launched 20 years ago, in 1993. Since then, ETFs have gained a great deal of popularity. So, if given the choice between an old school (open-end) mutual fund and an equivalent ETF, which would you choose and why? Personally, I remain partial to [...]
Investing Tips & Strategies
Peter Lynch once said “Know what you own, and why you own it.” Investing is simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
If you’re looking for tips and tricks for building a successful investment portfolio, you’ve come to the right place.
Topics of interest include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, portfolio construction, asset allocation, rebalancing strategies, investor psychology, and more. If you’re looking for hot stock tips or get rich quick schemes, look elsewhere.
A reader recently wrote in to ask the following about Vanguard Admiral Share conversions: “We’re getting close to being able to convert our Vanguard mutual funds to Admiral Shares. We’re pretty excited about this, but I’m also a little worried. Are there any tax consequences that I should be aware [...]
I’ve talked in the past about several ways of effectively outsourcing the management of your investment portfolio. Possibilities range from using an all-in-one mutual fund to engaging a service like Betterment to hiring a financial advisor. That being said, you may be interested in maintaining a bit more control and/or [...]
It’s well recognized that your asset allocation should be largely determined by your willingness, ability, and need to take risks. While your need and ability to take risks are primarily financial, your willingness to do so is largely psychological. Though you may need to take some risks to meet your [...]
Would you be surprised if I told you that Google search volume for various keywords is strongly influenced by real-world events? Probably not. For example, searches for “who is running for president” spike in January and October of Presidential election years, corresponding to the beginning of the primary season and [...]
I’ve received a couple of inquiries about why I’m such a fan on Series I Savings Bonds, so I thought I’d spend a bit of time discussing that today. As a reminder, I-Bonds are low-risk, inflation-indexed savings bonds that are issued (and backed) by the Federal government. So what’s so [...]
A reader recently wrote in with a question about asset allocation in retirement, having been advised that anyone in retirement should have at least 80% in equities. He’ll be retiring at age 66 later this year and, based on everything that he’s read, this recommendation seemed quite high to him. [...]
Do you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan with Fidelity and wish that you had access to better investment choices? If so, then you should definitely check to see if their “BrokerageLink” service is available within your plan. To be fair, Fidelity has a number of good, low-cost options in the [...]