To Exercise Options, or Not to Exercise Options, That is the Question
If Shakespeare’s Hamlet had worked in biotech or high-tech, this might be the question he would have asked himself. Whether your company is privately held or publicly traded, this post will discuss...
View ArticleDon’t be a lemming when it comes to investing – have an investment plan!
You’ve probably heard the maxim, “Buy low, sell high”. It turns out that’s a lot harder to do than it sounds. There can be a huge emotional component to choosing securities (stocks and bonds), and...
View ArticleThe risks of looking back at last year’s best investments
Looking back at the investments that did well last year is a sure path to investment frustration. I recently received the following from financial writer Bob Veres. He is referring to an article in...
View ArticleValue investing for retirement portfolios
Does value investing make sense for retiree portfolios? Warren Buffett, at 83 years old and with a net worth of about $60 billion, doesn’t seem to worry about time horizon when buying stocks — the true...
View ArticleInsurance against market crashes?
Many investors, panicked by the market crash of 2008-2009, started a search for some type of investment vehicle to protect them from the next market downturn. Some decided the answer was a variable...
View ArticleHow to succeed as an active passive investor—part one
A fundamental principle I preach is that having a core of passively managed mutual funds is the foundation of successful long-term wealth building. I practice that principle, as well: about 75% of the...
View ArticleA look back at blog posts for 2013 – Putting it all together
Since the launch of “Smart But Clueless about Money” in 2013, there have been over twenty-five posts on a number of topics. To help you make the most of this blog, this piece is dedicated to a...
View Article5 critical retirement investing mistakes to avoid
You might not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but you might be able to train your brain into doing right by your money. And that’s especially important for retirees who, according to the...
View ArticleHedged dividend investing for retirement
Retirees can generate income and preserve capital at the same time When it comes building a retirement-income portfolio, retirees are often faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge: They have to...
View ArticleDiversification for the disinterested investor – let funds do the work for you
What if you had to build a portfolio from individual stocks for your 401(k) plan or other investment accounts? Would you have the time and interest to research the financials and outlook for specific...
View ArticleReal life tips: 68 experts share their best investments ever
There’s two ways that people learn: through personal experience or through someone else’s experience. That holds true in investing. I previously shared some of the absolute worst investments I’ve ever...
View ArticleGive sinking financial ship a chance to come back up
When should you abandon a sinking financial ship? Not merely because it’s being tossed by stormy seas. I was reminded of this at a recent gathering of financial advisors. One participant noted that...
View ArticleWhy you must start investing now
This was a guest post to Good Financial Cents to help kick off Operation: #investNOW where Jeff Rose is inspiring 1 million people to start investing in themselves. This post comes from Barbara...
View ArticleGF¢ 021: My Investing Journey – How I Got Started Investing
Podcast: Play in new window | Download How I got started investing. People get overwhelmed with investing because they don’t know how; they’ve never had an example, or parents, family, or friends who...
View ArticleContributing to Your Work Retirement Plan: Time is on Your Side
How much should you contribute to your 401(k) plan? Are you overwhelmed by the investment selections for your retirement plan? These questions can be crippling. To quote the French philosopher...
View ArticleIt’s not your fault you aren’t saving for retirement
So-called ‘soft paternalism’ isn’t helping savers make any progress It’s time we stop kidding ourselves. Experiments to improve retirement savings decisions using what experts call “soft paternalism”...
View ArticleCan the SEC fix target-date funds?
Many retirement savers own the funds, but few understand how they work Target-date mutual funds, TDFs for short, are perhaps the most widely held but least understood packaged-for-retirement investment...
View ArticleIt’s your retirement — start planning now
Considering that retirement is a period of your life that can last 20, 30 or even 40 years, no wonder planning for it is a complex and significant task. To help you with this task, I wrote a series of...
View ArticleProtect your retirement from ‘income shocks’
If injury, illness or job-loss hurt your earning power, you’ll need a safety net Countless are the number of risks you might face when saving for retirement. But there’s one risk that could put a big...
View ArticleWhat is a Balanced Fund and is it Good Investment?
Mutual funds come in all shapes and sizes. By far, one of the most popular choices is the balanced fund. But if I asked most investors, “What is a balanced fund?” they couldn’t tell me. Even if you...
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