This article contains the RSS feeds for news and blogs.
News
Vanguard News
Christian Loxham, a trader in Vanguard Fixed Income Group, explains Vanguard's reasoning behind why international bond investing should be hedged, and the strategy that is being applied to the new Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund.
Sparked by the Federal Reserve's ongoing monetary stimulus policy, consumer spending on automobiles was the primary driver for improved retail sales in May.
For students and parents alike, college loan debt can result in many years' worth of anxiety and hardship. That's why it pays to do a little homework ahead of time.
We sat down with Steve Schullo and Dan Robertson, authors of the new book "Late Bloomer Millionaires," to talk about the lessons they've learned from a lifetime of investing.
The economic word in May for Federal Reserve districts and employer payrolls was modest. Analysts believed that the increase in nonfarm payroll employment wasn't enough for the Fed to halt its efforts to stimulate the economy through its bond-buying program, at least in the short term.
Vanguard News RSS feed
Bogleheads® author blogs
Laura Dogu
Laura Dogu is a contributor to The Bogleheads® View blog on Forbes.com.
Laura Dogu, Mel Lindauer: The Bogleheads - Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle
Today’s guest columnist is author, Bill Schultheis. Jack Bogle, the founder and retired chairman of Vanguard, is a legendary figure in bringing the simple concept of “index funds” to investors across the country and around the world. Though he may not have invented the index fund, his bold vision and leadership was the driving force in [...]
I’ve been asked a number of times if I feel there’s a safe way that an investor can build their own annuity without surrendering a large sum of money to an insurance company to purchase a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA). Indeed, I do feel that it’s possible for an investor to build a 20 or 30-year risk-free annuity without [...]
With today’s record low yields on FDIC-insured bank saving accounts and CDs, most investors are searching for higher yields. However, many investors are taking on more risk in the pursuit of those higher yields by investing in riskier products, often without realizing that higher yields usually means higher risk. Perhaps you’ve overlooked those “stodgy” old [...]
With the approaching end of 2012, here’s a brief checklist of some things you may have overlooked that you might still need to take care of. Time to Rebalance? If you rebalance annually, have you already done so, or is this the time of the year when you need to handle that? Required Minimum Distribution [...]
If you have a loan and you have money available to add to your investments, you also have the option of using the money to make an extra payment on the loan. Is the extra payment a good idea? Evaluate it as an investment opportunity: you are using money now so that you will have [...]
The Bogleheads® View
Rick Ferri
Rick Ferri Blog
What is an index? It’s hard to say these days. An index used to be a broad measure of market value. Today, it appears to mean any list of securities that are configured and managed in any way. This makes indexing confusing. To make things worse, mutual fund and ETFs that track these lists are being called index funds. I believe the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) needs to redefine what an “index” and “index fund” are because they’re not what they used to be.
Did you see that!? Another amazingly bright mutual fund manager burned out. After a streak of greatness, his fund’s performance went pitch black. Missed it? Just wait — they’ll be plenty more. The mutual fund universe is full of shooting stars. In fact, picking a manager based on his or her superior past return more often results in sub-par returns than a repeat performance.
A recent tax article written for Forbes by William Baldwin caught my eye. The article discussed how a hypothetical wealthy retired couple could pay no federal tax by putting their wealth into real estate, municipal bonds and stock index funds. The income earned from these investments was either tax-free or was cancelled out by deductions and exemptions. The article had a lot of fine points, but it was missing one very important piece. Most wealthy investors have considerable savings stashed away in tax-deferred retirement accounts such as traditional IRAs. The IRS won’t allow the money in these accounts to stay tax-deferred forever. The Tax Man cometh to retirees when Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) begin, and he never leaves.
It’s difficult to find someone who thinks interest rates will go lower. However, you don’t have to dig far to see that the case for higher rates isn’t as certain as most people believe. I’m not saying interest rates will fall, but there’s certainly a case for that also.
Unconventional success from an investment strategy leads to failure for most investors. The excess gains earned by the early adopters of a new investment idea quickly dissipate as growing crowds become increasingly unsophisticated and push down returns. It doesn’t take long before the average return from the strategy falls well below a simple portfolio of index funds.
Rick Ferri RSS feed
Mel Lindauer
Mel Lindauer is a contributor to The Bogleheads® View blog on Forbes.com. The Bogleheads® View RSS feed is listed above.
Mike Piper
Mike Piper - Oblivious Investor
A reader writes in, asking: “I am retired and would like to put half of the bond side of my portfolio in CDs. My total retirement IRA is now at Fidelity. I also like to take the ‘lazier approach.’ So my question: What do you think about new or secondary market CDs from Fidelity?” CDs purchased [...]
The original message of this blog was the idea that you don’t have to check your portfolio everyday or listen to financial news (ever) in order to be a successful investor. You can be “oblivious” to most of the day-to-day happenings in the financial world. Or, as Jack Bogle once phrased it, “Follow the basic [...]
A reader writes in, asking: “Several friends have purchased the Prudential Defined Income Variable Annuity. The illustration we were given shows a guaranteed 5.5% growth rate, meaning $100,000 invested for 12 years would be almost $200,000. But everything I read says to stay away from variable annuities. Have you published anything that explains why this [...]
After the recent article explaining that, yes, my wife and I still use Vanguard’s LifeStrategy Growth fund for our retirement savings, and, yes, we’re happy with it, a number of readers wrote in to ask about other ways to build a simple portfolio or to share their own methods of doing so. Two-Fund Portfolios Using [...]
People have been trying to draw attention to the poor quality of Dave Ramsey’s investment advice for years. But, for the most part, Ramsey has gotten a free pass on the matter. Because of Ramsey’s admirable success with helping so many people get out of debt, many people don’t particularly care that his investment advice [...]
Oblivious Investor RSS feed
Allan Roth
CBS MoneyWatch - Allan Roth, on CBS MoneyWatch.com
Is your financial adviser or broker acting in any way as to unfairly enrich themselves at your expense?
Conventional wisdom presumes that faster-growing economies translate to stock market growth
A recent Vanguard market outlook is a rarity among prognostications: It offers valuable advice and may earn you money
It may surprise you to hear the feds do offer this insurance product, but this one's a great buy and there's no sales charge
To lower the odds of losing money on bonds, it's important to understand the relationship between these debt instruments' price and yield
CBS MoneyWatch.com RSS feed
Bill Schultheis
Bill Schultheis - The Coffeehouse Investor
What’s your schedule look like tomorrow? Are you packed with little time for lunch or do you have a day open for creative thinking? Yes – that’s right, creative thinking. Drake Baer writes a thought-provoking piece for Fast Company and talks about the first time Warren Buffet met Bill Gates with an open schedule in his little black book.
We would never say it’s a good idea to listen to Bernie Madoff but he gives an interesting interview on how investors can become more informed and ways the SEC could level the playing field. It’s not to say that a Ponzi scheme won’t happen again, but it’s a unique perspective from a scheming ring [...]
Last week I highlighted Bill’s recent article on Forbes.com. He discussed a few not-so-obvious advantages to index funds besides lower cost fees. Vanguard recently attached a few numbers to these “lower cost fees” to demonstrate the impact investments costs can have on portfolios. It’s not something you think about every day, yet the dollars can really add up and put a dent in your nest egg overtime.
He's at it again! Bill continues to educate investors about the advantages of index funds and discusses a few benefits in his recent article on Forbes.com.
It’s the time of year when colored cardboard tasseled hats fly in the air in celebration. With the coveted college diploma in hand, these young people will look for inspiration and guidance as they navigate life.
Coffeehouse Investor RSS feed
Larry Swedroe
CBS MoneyWatch - Larry Swedroe, on CBS MoneyWatch.com
Investors may be unaware that the holdings of their fund include stocks, adding risk to an investment they never wanted
We'd like to think we can beat models when it comes to investing, but research says it ain't so
Never take an investing journey without knowing where you're going and how you're going to get there
A 90 percent chance of success and a 10 percent chance of failure may be the same, but many people react very different to each phrase
Many of our investing mistakes come from our belief that we simply don't make many mistakes
CBS MoneyWatch.com RSS feed
The Finance Buff
TFB - The Finance Buff
The gas station I usually go to added a discount for cash. The prices posted high on the board are cash prices. Down at the street level, there is a small pavement board listing the prices for cash and for credit in two columns. For regular unleaded gas, the credit price is about 3% higher [...]
Every year personal finance bloggers can compete for Plutus Awards. The organizers announced the categories for this year. I’m thinking of entering for Best-Kept Secret Personal Finance Blog. What do you think? Among the articles I read this week, I found these interesting: Variable Annuity with a 5.5% Guaranteed Growth Rate? by Mike Piper at [...]
FINRA stands for Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. It’s the self-regulatory body for brokerage firms and exchanges. Its educational arm FINRA Investor Education Foundation, together with Department of Treasury developed and conducted a National Financial Capability Study. Part of the study included a 5-question financial literacy quiz. The 25,000 participants in the study scored an average [...]
Every year many books on money and finance are published. Only few gain publicity. When you hear or see an author interviewed on radio and TV or read reviews in national newspapers or magazines, think about the terrific job done by the author’s and the publisher’s PR agents. The book Pound Foolish by freelance writer [...]
"Bucket" Asset Allocation Strategies by Mike Piper at Oblivious Investor Mike dispels the magic in bucket strategies. *** How to Handle a Windfall by Michael at Financial Ramblings No windfall has come my way yet. If one comes, I will remember these. *** Predicting Future Interest Rates by Mike at Long-Term Returns Mike went to [...]
The Finance Buff RSS feed
Investing blogs
Vanguard
Vanguard Blog - Insights and opinions from Vanguard leaders
I recently had the opportunity to watch a video of couples talking about retirement, which, for them, was about ten years away. The couples were broken into three self-described categories: fully prepared, somewhat prepared, and not prepared. At the end …
Graduation season is upon us, and you, like me, may be pondering what to get our loved ones. Thinking back, I remember four letters that meant a lot to me when I was graduating: C-A-S-H! But that’s too boring. This …
Joe Davis and Andy Clarke collaborated on this post, the result of a conversation about research that Vanguards Investment Strategy Group has conducted on the adoption and economic impact of "great ideas."
It was only a few short months ago that we feared intransigent policymakers would cause the economy and markets to hurtle into the abyss. I always preferred the term taxmageddon over fiscal cliff because it more accurately captured the pervasive …
Last Christmas, I bought my son a pair of noise-canceling headphones. Now, even as I raise my voice to a shout, he can’t hear me above whatever is rattling around inside his head.
In short, he’s on his way to …
Vanguard Blog RSS feed
For medical professionals (by Jim Dahle a.k.a. EmergDoc)
The White Coat Investor - Helping those who wear the white coat get a "fair shake"
[Editor's Note: I came across a physician actually living off the proceeds of his disability insurance. He was initially hesitant to share his story with you, but after promising a reasonable level of anonymity, he relented. As you know, I have no financial relationship with Berkshire, but the guest writer obviously gets a paycheck from them each month. Be kind in your comments and realize that requests for more details may be denied to preserve … Continue reading
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Many insurance companies and their agents will sometimes offer you a life, disability, or other insurance policy with a return of premium (ROP) rider. The salesmanship really kicks in as they explain how wonderful it is. “It’s like getting your insurance for free!” they say. Well, there are precious few free lunches in the world, and this isn’t one of them. How It Works Consider a return of premium feature in a disability insurance policy. … Continue reading
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Q. I am single mid-forties female physician and am engaged to a man about a decade older with 2 adult children who want him to get me to sign a pre-nup. I want to protect my assets too from them. My Fidelity advisor (I have been with Fidelity since my residency days for my Roth, Rollover and Individual IRAs) said that if I have my transfer on death (TOD) beneficiaries (my sister and a charity) … Continue reading
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[Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Jayson Mullin, a partner at a tax debt resolution company called Top Tax Defenders. We have no financial relationship.] As with other professions, tax deductions for medical professionals must meet specific guidelines that have been set forth by the IRS. The deductions that you are allowed to take will depend on whether you are self-employed, an employee or both, and the expenses must be necessary for your … Continue reading
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It is relatively straightforward to get out of an investment in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. You go onto your computer, make a few clicks, and voila, you’re out. Depending on the type of account, there may be some tax consequences. In a tax-free account like a Roth, an HSA, or a 529, there pretty much aren’t any. Likewise in a tax-deferred account like a 401K or traditional IRA, although there may be some planning … Continue reading
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The White Coat Investor Blog RSS feed
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