China tops USA in Clean energy spending
China is emerging as the world’s clean-energy powerhouse, according to a new study by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Last year, China spent more than any other major country on clean energy, including wind and solar, toppling the U.S. from the top spot for the first time in five years, the Pew report says. The U.S. is [...]How Much Is Needed to Comfortably Retire? Plan Your Retirement Portfolio Strategy Now
This mornings Wall Street Journal Sunday had a compelling yet alarming article ‘Do You Have Enough to Retire? Do the Math‘ that highlights the lack of a retirement portfolio strategy for many of the 80 million baby boomers.
“Just how much are you going to need in order to retire comfortably?” the article challenges each of us to ask ourselves. Surprisingly, “fewer than half workers surveyed, 46%, had tried to calculate how much they would need for a comfortable retirement.” The article then takes you through the steps to help you determine how much is enough. ”Based on assumptions made, you will need to save about 20 times the annual income you need your savings to generate.” WOW! And to be even more secure they recommend 25 times. NOW WHAT?!?
A plan is what!!! First take yourself through the article’s ’simple retirement planning worksheet’ then pick up your phone and schedule an appointment with an investment adviser to jump start investing for retirement. For those comfortable tackling this on your own, consider do-it-yourself investing tools. Make sure to have all your account information in front of you to get a clear picture of your financial landscape. It might also be helpful for you to read up on investment options available today so you are informed of their plus and minuses. Being educated will help you navigate through the conversation as they begin rattling off terms such as ‘diversification….asset allocation….rebalancing”. Make sure you also understand the difference between ETFs, mutual funds and index funds. With the goal to have as much money as possible at retirement, you will want to go the route with the lowest cost yet still provide you with diversification and returns.
Congratulations, you are one step closer to retiring comfortably!
Resurrecting a Retirement Portfolio — Good Advice and A Warm Glass of Milk
Has your retirement portfolio – or lack there of- got you up at night? If so, consider reading an excellent round-up article by Jan Rosen of the New York Times ‘Now Is A Perfect Time to Reconstruct A Nest Egg‘ that provides an excellent primer on IRA investing. Even though many investors have been hit hard over the recent past, it is now critical, especially as tax day approaches, to revisit ways to build a well structured IRA.
“The turbulent economy of the last two years has left accounts across the nation like beaches after a coastal storm — severely eroded. Clients in their mid- to late 60s are asking, ‘Can I still afford to retire?’ The answer depends on a person or couple’s assets, lifestyle and retirement goals. While retirement may still be feasible for the affluent, those less well-off or younger people whose modest portfolios have been battered need time to rebuild.”
So as you decide on your IRA investment strategy, consider an investment portfolio that provides diversification with an asset allocation fit to your financial goals and risk tolerance. To protect your nest egg from further erosion, also be certain to entertain low cost investment vehicles such as exchange traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. This coupled with a warm glass of milk should help you sleep more soundly at night!
Trusting Yourself With Buy and Hold Investing
Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article ‘Will We Ever Again Trust Wall Street?’ that brilliantly steers one to consider employing a buy and hold investment strategy over an actively managed portfolio. “Buying and holding a diversified stock portfolio still makes sense. Paradoxically, as fewer people cling to their faith in traditional stock investing, the future rewards from it are likely to grow greater.”
With the way things have played out on Wall Street in the last two years, now might be a great time to reconsider your investing strategy and turn to a buy and hold strategy that provides for diversification and less risk than individual stocks. Look to index funds and exchange traded funds to build a low cost, globally diversified portfolio using asset allocation. Just think of all the time you will have in your day for other things. With all the time currently spent chasing the market, now you can quickly and easily buy and hold index funds and spend a fraction of the time rebalancing your portfolio. Better yet, if you choose to utilize one of the on-line portfolio management tools out there, like one offered by marketriders.com, monitoring and rebalancing your portfolio, to keep it in check, is a breeze.
Who better to trust with your own money than yourself!
Municipal bonds safe bets?
You might be able to make good money from municipal bonds — if you can stomach the risks. Let’s start with greed and move on to fear. You don’t normally associate greed with a municipal bond, which is a long-term IOU issued by states and other local government entities. Munis pay regular interest and return [...]Devon Energy is Ripe
Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) is refocusing itself. Non-core holdings are being shed, and the proceeds are being used to accelerate growth of the company’s premier North American assets. Devon grew up as a company in the natural gas shale plays of the Midwest. Through superior technology, a focus on cost discipline, and a consistent track record, [...]Defense is best offense
Many Main Street investors have yet to regain their stomach for the risky, uncertain and highly volatile world of stocks. Many buy-and-hold investors have unwittingly switched to a “buy-and-fold” strategy. Individual investors who once embraced risk-taking have adopted a more defensive investing posture, preferring capital preservation over appreciation. Many are trimming the percentage of stocks they [...]Rattled Investors
The US unemployment rate dropped sharply last month, but employers continued cutting jobs in January as businesses remained insecure about the economic outlook. The jobless rate fell to 9.7% from 10% in December, the Labor Department said Friday, because its survey of households found more people landed jobs than entered or returned to the labor market. But [...]Ring of Fire
U.S. stock investors don’t know where to take cover with the constant market swings. Reeling from four straight weekly losses, are entering the coming week’s market torn between confidence in the global economic recovery and fear that foreign governments’ actions will bring the rebound to a sudden halt. Investors have looked at the two sides and [...]Investing for Beginners: Avoid the Tempting Scams
Investing for beginners, as well as those more financially savvy, can oftentimes be a daunting task as there are many investment choices and unfortunately many schemes making promises that can’t be kept. As recently exposed in an article in InvestorsInsight.com ‘Record Year For Ponzi Schemes’ investors are oftentimes lured in by investment schemes that are just ‘too good to be true’. “It’s not because they are unsophisticated, since Bernie Madoff’s client list was a virtual who’s who of the rich and famous, many of whom had extensive investment knowledge and experience. Instead, scam artists use well-known emotional triggers to get you to invest.”
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Instead, I encourage serious retirement investors to stick with the strategy used by the world’s best investors. Focus on asset allocation, globally diversify, keep fees down with indexing, and rebalance to stay the course. For many that have gotten caught up in a Ponzi scheme or know of friends that have, now might be the perfect time to take matters into your own hands and start to manage your own investments. Many of the tools available today will guide you on how to invest your money with the goal of generating the most returns for retirement, accounting for risk and time frame, at a low cost. Try reading several Investing 101 articles that are out there as they are loaded with lots of great tips on finding the best investment vehicle for you.