July kicked off the third quarter with a bang as stocks surged throughout much of the month. Investors were encouraged by solid employment growth, a rise in personal income and consumer spending, a surge in the housing sector, and an increase in industrial production. All news was not positive, however. …
Different markets call for different approaches to managing your portfolio. Should an investor take a passive approach through a fund designed to mirror the changes in a market index as a whole or actively manage the portfolio with stocks chosen individually? It depends.Over roughly the last decade, passively managed index …
Read moreUnderstanding the Roles for Active and Passive Portfolio Managements
Your favorite team can go through winning and losing streaks and so can the stock market. You need to be patient and keep your eye on the goal — retirement. Market volatility, corporate fraud, mutual fund scandals and war — these events can make us worry about our finances. While …
From rebate checks to small business support, there’s a lot packed into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law on Friday. The $2+ trillion emergency fiscal stimulus package is intended to mitigate some of the economic effects of dealing with COVID-19. Here’s a …
A recent survey found that more than half of retirees have retirement planning regrets. Unfortunately, many of these retirees had to cut back on their lifestyles to compensate for financial shortfalls.1 Considering their most common regrets may help you avoid making the same mistakes. Not saving enough More than one-third of …
During the last week of February 2020, the S&P 500 lost 11.49% — the worst week for stocks since the 2008 financial crisis — only to jump by 4.6% on the first Monday in March.1 By all accounts, the drop was largely driven by ever-increasing fears about the potential effects of …
As a plan sponsor, your 401(k) participants depend on you to help create the retirements they envision. The good news is that many of these participants likely recognize the importance of saving for retirement. In fact, with retirement lasting longer than ever, 401(k) millionaires – those with at least $1 …
As of February 26, 2020, the death toll from COVID-19 — the official name of the coronavirus first reported in Wuhan, China — passed 2,700, while the number of confirmed cases exceeded 80,000. Almost all were in China, most of them in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province. But more …
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become increasingly popular since they were introduced in the United States in the mid-1990s. Their tax efficiencies and relatively low investing costs have attracted investors who like the idea of combining the diversification of mutual funds with the trading flexibility of stocks. The proliferation of ETF choices …
Read moreExchange-Traded Funds: Do They Belong in Your Portfolio?
Investors tend to see short-term volatility as the enemy. Volatility may lead many investors to move money out of the market and “sit on the sidelines” until things “calm down.” Although this approach may appear to solve one problem, it creates several others: When do you get back in? You …