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Three months into this I-Bond period, CPI-U for Sept was 231.407 and for Dec was 229.601 (third month in a row with lower cpi-u), thus a trend of deflation. Without a reversal, the next inflation reset for current bonds would be zero. If the deflation trend remains, May bonds may be issued at a bas...

There's no perfect fund equivalent to AAPL. You could go with either VIGRX, per nisiprius' post, or QQQ, which will track AAPL slightly closer but is much more of a technology investment. Also, one is a fund and the other is more of a trading vehicle. Note that, as of 12/10/12, the top eight stocks ...

Richard - You could also consider a tax-exempt fund such as VWITX (Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax Exempt Fund) or VMLTX (Vanguard Limited-Term Tax Exempt Fund). No taxes, no one-year holding period. Both have $3k minimums, so you could split your money between the two. Note that both funds, while co...

Maybe this paper from Vanguard will have information that you will find useful. https://institutional.vanguard.com/VGApp/iip/site/institutional/researchcommentary/article?File=ImplicationsTotRetvsTotInc While the paper is useful (and I agree with its conclusion recommending the total-return approac...

Thank you so much for your responses. I have a follow up question because I guess I am still not 100% clear... When a dividend is payed and reinvested, doesn't that buy you additional shares of that fund? Therefore, if the share price goes up in the future, since i would now have more shares, the v...

Not enough info to answer. What would the purchase of the beach house do to the size of the portfolio/withdrawal rate? If I paid cash for a beach house, price approx. ($650,000+taxes owed on IRA withdrawal), withdrawal rate needed from portfolio to supplement pensions and social security would be 3...

There would be no COLA and no insurance. This would be a straight annuity; there is no backdoor universal insurance product involved.

I recently retired from my business at age 45. I have a low six-figure amount in a pension plan. I have available an option to take this amount in a lump sum or as an annuity. If taken as a lump sum, I would roll it over into my IRA and invest it in accordance with the investment strategy applicabl...

I have been reading various threads and I am so confused.If I have 500 k at age 60 to invest in fixed income today,where should I put it?The whole low yield,inflation coming scenario has me paralyzed.The money would be in an IRA and not touched but added to for the next 5 or 6 years and is the core...

Note: I treat my kids' investments as having a separate AA from ours. Their investments are at Fidelity. 9th grader (overall 45/55 stock/bond) - 3.5 years to first withdrawal: 62.0% UNIQUE 529 age-based plan (35/65 stock/bond) 23.1% Spartan 500 index (FUSEX) 7.6% Spartan US Bond Index (FBIDX) 7.3% o...

Not enough info to answer. What would the purchase of the beach house do to the size of the portfolio/withdrawal rate?

Any and all comments, recommendations and suggestions greatly appreciated on the following portfolilo: *** I realize this is a mismash of funds and stocks. Reason for owning AT&T (T), is because I got it at a very low price and it's paying 8.3% dividend based on my cost per share, with a beta o...

We are both age 45. We currently hold bonds equal to age-5 (60/40 stock/bonds). We treat cash and cash equivalents as bonds for this purpose.

alanf56 wrote:I can confirm that in my case the money came out of my bank account the next day and there were no "test" deposits for confirmation.

Same for me. We bought our 2012 I-bonds over the weekend online and the money was taken out yesterday (Mon.).

Also need to consider whether this is a taxable account and what your time horizon is for the funds. If it is a tax-deferred account, a TIPS fund (VIPSX) or total bond fund (VBTLX) might be appropriate. If it is a taxable account, an intermediate tax-exempt fund (VWITX) or a limited-term tax-exempt ...

mr.ajandkj, Can you give a link to WF's page that describes this? Or do I have to make a call? I have a mortgage with them at 4.625% and would love to get that down to 4.125% if I could. https://mortgage.wellsfargo.com/easyapp/index.jsp Just completed my no-cost refinance with Wells, down to 4% fro...

Good overall plan but if I was writing this like a business plan I would have a section of contingencies 1) What if inflation is higher (or lower!) than expected? 2) What if one (or both) of you becomes very ill / disabled? 3) What if a relative becomes sick/disabled/??? and you want to help them f...

OP, to your last comment. As of right now, bond returns are about 3% provided rates down go up and decrease principal. How do you KNOW there will be 6% stock returns. And after tax the returns you get will be less. I agree....I believe a lot (most) retirees will be in a lot of trouble. We obviously...

You might consider a section on investment withdraw. You have a long retirement period and will be subject to under performing (or loss years). The forum has many posts (and debates) on withdrawal strategies. Fixed withdrawal amount ? % of assets? Select an approach that suites your time horizon an...

This all sounds good although as soon as you add flexibility and "opportunities" then the plan could go awry. I only have one question. Once the working stops, what do you do if the market goes flat or is in a prolonged Japan-like bear market and interest rates stay at 3% or less? Serious...

We are working on putting together a draft investment policy statement. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Note that we are both age 44 today. *** Our goal has been to accumulate funds sufficient to fund the remainder of our lives. The following represents our agreed-upon investment views: Investmen...

I like the tax advantages of my Utah 529 program, but I'm wondering if there are any rules of thumb about what percent of college costs to aim for by the time the kids turn 18? Should I aim to have 50% of the estimated cost in a 529? Or 70%? (Note: I'll plan to pay any shortfall from taxable accoun...

Here's an example of a VUL FAQ: http://www.cpai.com/personal-insurance/gvul/faqs.jsp What is the GVUL Plan? Group Variable Universal Life (GVUL) is an insurance product whose goal - first and foremost - is to provide life insurance coverage to help secure your family's future. GVUL combines permanen...

57%, 44, $800k

Redwing - We are in very similar life situations and also hold the bulk of my investible assets with Merrill. I know many of the people on this forum are going to recommend moving your portfolio to Vanguard. Assuming you are looking to structure a solution primarily within Merrill, I would recommend...

Dale_G - Your clutter point is more than fair. I also will think about the asset allocation funds. (I presume these are the funds classified as "World Allocation.") When I went through this exercise of listing my entire portfolio, I wondered why there are so many World Allocation funds and...

fishnskiguy -

If I were to take your advice, what recommendations would you make in terms of which funds to purchase with the funds?

bottlecap - Our plan has been to accumulate funds sufficient to fund our retirement. I wouldn't call this a formal IPS but represents our general investing views: Investment Objectives: 1. To be able to retire at the age of 45 2. To be able to fund our retirement plan, which provides for a budget fo...

Manbaerpig - I should have been more specific. I am retiring, my wife intends to work for a few more years. We therefore will not need to tap into any of the portfolio for 18 months after I retire. In our retirement budget, which we have vetted through FIRECalc and through our financial advisor, we ...

Emergency funds: 3-6 months worth of expenses Debt: $344k mortgage, 4.625%, due 2039 Tax Filing Status: Married filing jointly Tax Rate: 35% Federal 6% State Age: 44, planning on retiring in 12-15 months Desired asset allocation: 65-70 stocks / 30-35 bonds/cash International allocation: 30% of stoc...