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Review: Why Dow 20,000 Is a Meaningless Milestone
People like round numbers. Investors really like round numbers. But just because a number has a lot of zeroes at the end doesn’t mean anything. We’re seeing this all over again because the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closing in on 20,000 (by the time you read this, it may very well have already surpassed…
Read MoreReview: Most investors didn’t come close to beating the S&P 500
Shockingly, the average investor lost to the market. It happens most years, yet the financial media acts like it’s Truman defeating Dewey every time. Looking at the data from Openfolio, a platform for individual investors, their average investor was up about 5% on the year. That’s around 7% worse than the S&P 500 Index. On…
Read More4 Areas Where Government Policy Could Have A Big Impact On Your Retirement Plan
No matter how much your employer matches your 401(k) contributions or the government provides assistance, you are the one who will determine how successful your retirement will be. How you prepare will determine how your retirement looks. But your retirement plan will undoubtedly be affected by external factors, many of which will be driven by…
Read MoreShould Legacy Goals Be Part of Your Retirement Plan?
Figuring out how to plan for your legacy goals is a nice problem to have. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t worry about it. Whether or not legacy goals are part of your plan can seriously impact what your retirement will look like. Including them means you’ll have less to spend on yourself (and you’ll…
Read MoreUnderstanding Fixed and Variable Expenses in Retirement
Not all retirement expenses are weighted the same when it comes to your retirement income plan. You can categorize them in all sorts of different ways, but one of the most important ways is to break out your fixed and variable expenses. Examining your expenses in this way can give you a sense of just…
Read MoreA Simple Way to Keep Your Portfolio in Line
Investing isn’t simply picking the best funds or building your perfect portfolio. Keeping your portfolio in line over the long term is just as important (if not more so). Markets move. That’s what they do. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t reflect our ever-changing world. As a result, your portfolio will drift over time from being…
Read MoreWhen Tax-Loss Harvesting Makes Sense (And When It Doesn’t)
The investing world is comprised primarily of uncontrollable factors like stock prices and tomorrow’s market movements. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of the areas you can control that can potentially put more money in your pocket. We often talk about controlling risk with tools like diversification and an evidence-based, or “passive,” investing…
Read MoreThree questions to evaluate longevity risk for retirees
Longevity risk—the risk of running out of assets before running out of time—is fundamental to retirement. We know about the distribution of longevity for the overall population, but an individual cannot know in advance precisely where he or she will fall in the distribution. The length of your retirement could be much shorter or longer…
Read MoreWhat Is The ‘Retirement Spending Smile’?
Many people approach retirement planning as if they’ll monotonically spend the same amount year after year throughout their retirement. This assumption certainly makes the planning process significantly simpler, but it’s not realistic. Our spending desires (and needs) change over time. Many people want to take advantage of their early retirement while they are still spry…
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