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Senate Committee Pans Target-Date Mutual Funds
Many 401(k) plans use target-date (or lifecycle) mutual funds. A target-date fund is structured to embody a diversified portfolio for a person who plans to retire in a given year, say 2030. The longer...
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GDP Turns Positive (Sort of)
U.S. GDP rises 3.5% as stimulus kicks in (MarketWatch, October 29, 2009, Rex Nutting) The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5% annual pace in the third quarter, as massive government stimulus helped drag...
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INFLATION: Can you protect your portfolio?
What happens when we enter high inflation? My experience with inflation dates back to the 1970s and early 1980s. Inflation averaged almost 8% for the entire decade of the ’70s, but it cranked up into...
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Connie Brouwer 1921 — 2009
Connie Brouwer 1921 — 2009 My Mom died last week. She was 88. I suppose I’m very lucky to have had her so long. Don’t feel lucky though. She was not feeling well, so my sisters checked her into the...
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S&P gains while dollar loses
If you are a U.S. investor, the S&P 500 is up over 20% this year. Not bad all things considered. However, investors in other countries have often not fared as well because the gain from U.S....
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State Tax Revenues Plunge
The fact that state tax revenues are falling should not be a surprise given that we have been in a recession. Nor, should it be surprising that income taxes have fallen far more than sales taxes or...
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Mutual funds on the rebound
Smart Money did a piece on mutual funds that had a rough year in 2008, but were doing well in 2009. Here’s how they selected funds: …The Criteria: The funds on the table were in the bottom 20% of...
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What the heck is an ETF?
In the media and online we see many references to exchange traded funds or ETFs. I think many investors consider these as being just like mutual funds. And, ETFs do have a number of similarities to...
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Do ETFs Pump Up Emerging Markets?
Jason Zweig asks a very good question in a Wall Street Journal column: ETFs Causing Bubble in Emerging Markets? (Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2009, Jason Zweig) U.S. investors have pumped roughly...
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Fundmastery Blog now on MarketWatch.com
I’m excited to announce that Fundmastery Blog is now on MarketWatch.com’s hugely popular financial website. Click on this link to go directly to our new MarketWatch.com site: Fundmastery Blog. Or, if...
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Will you run out of money in retirement?
‘Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one hand – chocolate in...
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Bond Investors
Bonds have always been the reliable foundation of a retirement portfolio. How will they fare in a low yield environment and through a much anticipated rate hike?
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Diversify, or as Warren Buffett said…
Diversification doesn’t cure all investing ills, but it can help create and protect your family’s wealth. While pundits tell us that taking on greater risk means higher returns, it doesn’t always work...
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Who Knows Game Theory Better Than the Greeks?
The stock markets traded off Monday based on the latest disappointing news of failing negotiations between Greece and the EU to resolve a pending Greek default. Following the daily twists and turns in...
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Talking Points: Big data but little change
We had a busy week on the economic and market front. The highlights were i) indifferent earnings from US companies ii) a weak GDP report iii) an inconclusive Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)...
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Markets Wandering and Waiting
We are in the countdown days to the September Federal Reserve meeting. Most commentators expect a hike. Another Federal Reserve Governor came out this week saying he would probably vote for an...
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China Surprise
Ouch! August is often a month of surprises. In 2011, the S&P 500 lost nearly 7% at the height of the European debt crisis (yes, it’s been going on that long). In 2013, the NASDAQ closed for three...
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Why markets are down….but not out
Wasps, traffic, reruns, back to school, shark sightings and market corrections. August is fast losing its laid back reputation. The S&P 500 is down around 4.5% for the month and 6.2% from May’s all...
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