McLean Asset Management

How Did Investors Survive the 1980s?

By McLean Asset Management / June 14, 2016 /

The following is an excerpt from our ebook, “Investing Through the Decades,” which you can download by clicking here. Throughout history, when bad news and events touched the daily lives of investors and caused nest eggs to shrink, it’s been natural to ask, “Is this the end of investing as we know it? Have new…

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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Housing Decisions in Retirement

By McLean Asset Management / February 1, 2016 /

A plan to meet housing needs is an important part of a retirement income strategy. A home provides an emotional anchor, providing daily comfort and shelter, memories, and nearness to friends and community. Homes are also a major source of wealth for retirees and near-retirees. Home equity provides between 45 and 75% of median household…

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What’s the Difference between Budgeting and Financial Planning?

By McLean Asset Management / September 8, 2015 / Comments Off on What’s the Difference between Budgeting and Financial Planning?

Everyone knows the story of the tortoise and the hare: A speedy hare ridicules a slow-moving tortoise until the tortoise proposes a race. The hare agrees, bolts past the tortoise and then, certain he’ll win, takes a nap break halfway through. The tortoise keeps on, slow and steady, and the hare awakes to find he’s…

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Withdrawal sequencing: avoiding the pitfalls of retirement distribution order

By McLean Asset Management / August 3, 2015 /

Withdrawing from your investment portfolio in retirement is like walking through a minefield. If you don’t take the right path, you’re going to take a large tax hit. Most people don’t think about it, but your distribution strategy in retirement and the resulting taxes can have a significant impact on how long your money lasts…

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Risky Business: Why Younger Investors Should Take Risks in Their Portfolio

By McLean Asset Management / March 16, 2015 /

Millennials began their careers around the 2008-2009 downturn and are understandably gun-shy around stocks. They saw their parents’ losses and want to avoid having the same thing happen to them. As a result, most millennial investors are opting for the security of large cash positions or more conservative portfolios to make sure they don’t experience…

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Dave Ramsey’s 8% Withdrawal Rate

By McLean Asset Management / June 6, 2013 /

Having spent the better part of the last 10 years in Japan, I have not been all that familiar with Dave Ramsey. Sure, I’ve heard from time to time that there is a radio show financial guru who talks about 12% market returns and an 8% withdrawal rate in retirement, but that sounded so farfetched…

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Withdrawing a Constant Percentage of Remaining Wealth

By McLean Asset Management / April 15, 2012 /

For almost all of my work on retirement withdrawal rates, I’ve assumed a constant inflation-adjusted withdrawal rate strategy.  That is, the withdrawal rate is defined as an amount of income withdrawn in the first year of retirement as a percentage of retirement date assets. This income amount then adjusts for inflation in subsequent years. Since…

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William Bengen’s SAFEMAX

By McLean Asset Management / February 7, 2012 /

If the long-term average real return from the stock market is 7%, does that mean one can safely use a 7% withdrawal rate from a 100% stocks portfolio without worrying about running out of wealth or even dipping into the original principal? The answer is No. But answering yes is a common mistake; one which…

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Analyzing Fixed-Income Securities and Strategies – Journal of Financial Service Professionals

By McLean Asset Management / November 3, 2005 /

Executive Summary Fixed-income instruments are largely used within a portfolio to reduce volatility and provide a more consistent distribution stream for clients. Holding non-callable instruments backed by the U.S. government offer significant protection in times of financial crisis while reducing the long-term opportunity cost of bonds. U.S. government instruments with maturities from one to five…

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