Posts tagged as:

conservative investments

The Retirement Entitlement

July 23, 2010

Every now and again, I bump into someone suggesting that retirement is not an option, we can work for ever and above all, it is not an entitlement.  When we look at that particular buzzword – entitlement – some of us wonder how its place in the lexicon became so reviled.  Nothing we are entitled [...]

Read the full article →

Your Retirement: Social Security Considerations

April 6, 2010

Social Security is one of those polarizing programs that none of us can do without. By none of us, I mean all of us. If you are wealthy, the fact that such a vibrant social program exists means that the threat that poverty amongst the elderly might bring to your wealth is relatively benign. (If [...]

Read the full article →

Rising Rates Make Bond Fund Managers Worry

February 21, 2010

Once again, the investor is at risk. Only now, the risk is coming from the very advice, whether implied or simply offered that conservative investments are the best way to prevent catastrophic losses in your retirement accounts. Its no secret that many folks, reeling from the recent dip in their 401(k) plan balances shifted any [...]

Read the full article →

The 401(k) Match: Getting Optimistic

February 10, 2010

At this point in time, any news seems to be good news. And when it comes to the return of the matching contribution on the 401(k), the news is greeted with a kind of relief. Finally, we are getting back to business, some have suggested. CNN even went so far as to suggest that this [...]

Read the full article →

The Retirement Paradox: Not How, If?

January 10, 2010

As I continue to write the book that is accompanying this site, I can’t help but marvel at the impact we are having on our retirements.  Consider of sudden switch to conservative investing. Is this because we fear the worst could happen again? Are we simply trying to protect what we have? To answer those [...]

Read the full article →

The Downside of Passively Investing

January 7, 2010

The downside of passively investing, such as in index funds, may have cost you dearly over the past year. While you did well, with gains in your retirement portfolio helping ease your concern, had you been in actively managed mutual funds, you would have done better. Juliet Ellis, chief investment officer for U.S. growth investing [...]

Read the full article →

Once Upon a Time, Investors Panicked

December 16, 2009

Seems so long ago.  Markets were tumbling. People who owned stocks were selling and running for bonds. People who owned actively managed mutual funds were moving everything they had left to the uncharted and unproven territories that are target date funds or balanced offerings. No one seemed to know what to do or worse, how [...]

Read the full article →

Safe Harbor Investing

October 5, 2009

There is no easy answer for how much risk is too much risk or too little. In the aftermath of this past year, plan sponsors are looking for a way to insure that those close to retirement have the money they invested over their careers there when they need it. The key word is insure. [...]

Read the full article →