Overseas Opportunities? On the island of Puerto Rico, the governor announced that its $70 billion debts were “not payable.” Despite the small size of the Puerto Rican economy, its bonds are strangely important in the US bond market. They enjoy this status because they are not subject to federal, state, or local taxes. The result […]

8 Mistakes That Can Upend Your Retirement Pursuing your retirement dreams is challenging enough without making some common, and very avoidable, mistakes. Here are eight big mistakes to steer clear of, if possible. 1. No Strategy: Yes, the biggest mistake is having no strategy at all. Without a strategy, you may have no goals, leaving you […]

Greece Back in the Spotlight Investors’ fortunes reversed in May. Whereas April saw foreign investments and hard assets posting strong returns and prompted some investors to make significant changes to their portfolios in response, May was driven by the US markets yet again. This strong performance surprised some investors, after several economic data releases were […]

3 Questions To Ask About Your Long-Term Care Needs If you’re like many Americans, you might be worried about how to prepare for your own or your loved ones’ long-term healthcare needs. In previous generations, elderly parents and grandparents could count on moving in with relatives when they became unable to live alone. However, today’s […]

Overseas Opportunities April was difficult for the US economy. Several economic indicators, including gross domestic product (GDP), suggested that the US economy’s recovery may be slowing. While analysts have been predicting a correction in the US stock market, none of this data was significant enough to trigger such a selloff. Instead investors were content to […]

Certain Uncertainties in Retirement The uncertainties we face in retirement can erode our sense of confidence, potentially undermining our outlook during those years. Indeed, according to the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, only 18% of retirees say they are “very confident” about having enough assets to live comfortably in retirement. […]

Your Changing Definition of Risk in Retirement During your accumulation years, you may have categorized your risk as “conservative,” “moderate” or “aggressive” and that guided how your portfolio was built. Maybe you concerned yourself with finding the “best-performing funds,” even though you knew past performance does not guarantee future results.What occurs with many retirees is […]

Disability and Your Finances The Social Security Disability Insurance program paid out $140.1 billion in benefits in 2013. And with a rush of new applicants lining up each year, the system is expected to exhaust its reserves some time in 2016 if changes aren’t made.1 Rather than depending on a government program to protect their […]

The Value of a Dollar At the beginning of March, the S&P 500 hit another all-time high, but it promptly retreated from that high. Despite another upswing later in the month, it finished the month with a small loss. With the beginning of foreign stimulus programs, rumors of interest rate changes, and lukewarm economic news, […]

The Investment Risk Most People Have Never Heard Of Knowledgeable investors are aware that investing in the capital markets presents any number of risks—interest-rate risk, company risk, and market risk. Risk is an inseparable companion to the potential for long-term growth. Some of the investment risks we face can be mitigated through diversification.¹ As an […]