Investing
When Planning, Focus More on Goals, Less on Numbers
Financial planning is a complex, lifelong process that people tend to approach with a numbers orientation. What rate of return do I need to reach my goal? How much insurance do I need? Can I afford a bigger house? How much money do I need to save for retirement? To support their pursuit of the…
Read MoreWhat Motivates Your Investment Moves?
When the stock market falls sharply as it did following the recent Brexit Referendum in the United Kingdom, it is not unusual for investors to react emotionally — to act on impulse before thinking through the potential long-term consequences. Why does emotion sometimes cloud your judgment when it comes to making investment decisions? The answer…
Read MoreMillennials: On Investing and Retirement
Move over Baby Boomers. These days all eyes are on Millennials, those young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 who are now America’s largest living generation.1 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Millennials in the United States number more than 75 million — and the group continues to expand as young immigrants enter…
Read MoreGet in the Habit — Smart Investing Habits to Adopt This Year
Some of your New Year’s resolutions may be to break a few of your bad habits and to take on some new, positive habits. If you’d like to improve your investing habits, setting up daily, monthly, and yearly routines may help. Daily Investment Habits Simple day-to-day routines may be the key to your investment success.…
Read MoreIs Active Portfolio Management Right for You?
The heightened volatility that has afflicted the U.S. stock market for the past several months points out the potential benefits of active portfolio management. What distinguishes an active investment style from a passive style — and what benefits may active management provide in a volatile market? Dueling Styles Because active managers may rely on market…
Read MorePlanning 2016: New Realities, New Expectations
Financial resolutions often fall prey to the same procrastination that hinders personal aspirations. Yet current volatility in the financial markets along with other unsettling factors such as the impending presidential election and widespread geopolitical unrest may have led investors to pause, rethink their financial situations, and set new expectations for the future. Resolutions typically fall…
Read MoreTen Reasons to Consider Tapping Home Equity Now
The Federal Reserve has set the wheels in motion and for the first time in nearly a decade, interest rates are on an upward trajectory. The initial hike was a modest one quarter of one percentage point — not a game changer for most investors or consumers. And from what Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen telegraphed…
Read MoreFocus on the Forest, Not the Trees, of Investing
It’s a message worth repeating. Investing is a matter of focus. Despite recent disappointments in stock market performance, investors who are willing to assess the whole universe of investment choices may find that the market continues to offer new possibilities. And those who keep their sights set on long-term investment goals may find that a…
Read MoreWhen Should You Sell an Investment?
Effective portfolio management is about more than buying securities, it’s also about selling them when the time is right. Unfortunately, there’s no crystal ball that tells investors when to sell their investments. Many investors hold securities for too long and reproach themselves for not having sold sooner. Others sell too soon and second-guess their chances…
Read MoreCoping With Market Volatility
Global market volatility ramped up last summer as worries about the tenuous state of the Chinese economy shook virtually all major financial benchmarks, indicating once again how interrelated the world’s economies and investment markets have become. Widespread uncertainty has not only heightened anxiety among investors, it was also a likely contributor to the Federal Reserve’s…
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