A young person shouldn’t be too focused on the current portfolio because most of his/her savings haven’t been invested yet.
Virginia CollegeWealth 529 Plan Offers FDIC Insured Savings Account
An alternative to Colorado’s Stable Value Plus plan for those who want a guaranteed return for their 529 plan.
How to Roll Over a 401k without Going Out of the Market
See how to avoid going out of the market when you are rolling over a 401k, especially a large amount. Don’t accidentally time the market.
2014 I Bonds vs PenFed CD
Pentagon Federal Credit Union offered a great deal on 5-year CDs. How do I Bonds compare with the PenFed CDs?
2013: Great For Investments, Bad For Investing
2013 was a great year for investments. S&P 500 grew more than 30%. See why it was bad for investing.
Are Vanguard Long Term Muni Funds Really Long Term Or Just Long Term In Name Only?
Vanguard long-term muni bond fund offers a much higher yield with a duration not that much longer than that on the intermediate-term fund. What gives? Is it a free lunch?
Bond Fund vs CD In the Next Five Years
Under what circumstance will a bond fund do better than a 5-year CD in the next five years?
Lifestyle Design: Choose What You Know
Not having had a personal finance class in high school isn’t an excuse. It’s always a choice. We all have limited time. You choose to invest your time in what matters.
Higher Yield On Brokered CD vs Early Withdrawal Option
Bond interest rates came up by about 1% after the Fed started talking about tapering Quantitative Easing. We are starting to see some higher rates in brokered CDs. This makes sense because brokered CDs compete directly with bonds. Brokered CDs don’t have the early withdrawal option. If you want out, you have to sell them […]
The Road to Asset Rich
The second part of the Asset Rich Income Poor strategy is relatively easy when you get overpaid, uh, increase the value, for what you do. I wrote about the basics in 3 Secrets to a Fat 401k. To achieve Asset Rich, we need to work on these 3 factors: the amount you invest; the rate […]
Buy Bond ETFs At Large Discounts To Net Asset Value (NAV)
For reasons I don’t completely understand, bond ETFs, especially ones investing in illiquid bonds such as munis, trade at a premium to the net asset value (NAV) most of the time. That means you will pay more to buy the ETF than the value of the illiquid bonds held by the ETF. Look at these […]
Portfolio Diversifier: REIT vs Precious Metals Equity
After I have the core asset classes covered in my investment portfolio — US stocks, international stocks, and fixed income — if I’m looking for a good asset class for diversification, REIT and Precious Metal Equity (PME) are two good candidates. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Yale endowment Chief Investment Officer David Swensen had REITs […]