Mutual Funds vs. ETFs
The growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been explosive. In 1998, there were only 29; at the end of 2018, there were over 1,900 investing in a wide range of stocks, bonds, and other securities and instruments.¹ [...]
The Investment Risk No One’s Ever Heard Of
Knowledgeable investors are aware that investing in the capital markets presents any number of risks, including interest rate risk, company risk, and market risk. Risk is an inseparable companion to the potential for long-term growth. Some of [...]
Investment Challenges of the Affluent Investor
High net worth investors face investment challenges that some would consider unique to their financial status. The fundamental tenets of investing apply equally to them as with any other investor, but the affluent investor needs to be [...]
Rebalancing Your Portfolio
Everyone loves a winner. If an investment is successful, most people naturally want to stick with it. But is that the best approach? It may sound counterintuitive, but it may be possible to have too much of [...]
Best-Performing Asset Classes
According to Yale University's Crash Confidence Index, only about 27% of investors are confident the stock market will not crash sometime during the next six months.1 But if fear leads investors to avoid the entire investment class, [...]
All Muni Bonds Are Not Created Equal
The city of Detroit emerged from bankruptcy in 2014. Still, its previous inability to pay investors left some questioning their long-held assumption about the relative safety of municipal bonds.¹ Without question, in the wake of Detroit’s troubles, [...]
Asset Allocation
If you live in or have visited a big city, you’ve probably run into street vendors—people who sell everything from hot dogs to umbrellas in carts—on the streets and sidewalks. Many of these entrepreneurs sell completely unrelated [...]
A Look at Diversification
Ancient Chinese merchants are said to have developed a unique way to manage their risk. They would divide their shipments among several different vessels. That way, if one ship were to sink or be attacked by pirates, [...]
Traditional vs. Roth IRA
Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), which were created in 1974, are owned by roughly 33.2 million U.S. households. And Roth IRAs, created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, are owned by nearly 22.5 million [...]
What Is a Roth 401(k)?
While many people are familiar with the benefits of traditional 401(k) plans, others are not as acquainted with Roth 401(k)s. Since January 1, 2006, employers have been allowed to offer workers access to Roth 401(k) plans.1 And some [...]