Posted by Richard on August 17, 2016
What makes a company a good investment? Investment professionals consider several factors when they’re selecting companies to include in a stock portfolio. Here are some of the criteria they’re likely to use. A Company’s Finances A strong financial position on the part of the issuing company can make a stock attractive to investors. Analysts typically […]
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Over the past several decades, there has been a significant shift in the retirement savings landscape away from employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s. At the same time, there has been widespread growth in assets in IRAs and annuities. One consequence of this change, according to the U.S. Department […]
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There are two great reasons for buying a vacation home: You want one and you can afford to buy it. Buying a vacation home as an investment, however, should not be your primary motivation. Some vacation properties can also be good investments. Others aren’t. As recent history has shown, real estate prices can go down […]
Read More →Posted by Richard on July 12, 2016
Many investors have taken advantage of pretax contributions to their company’s employer-sponsored retirement plan and/or make annual contributions to an IRA. If you participate in a qualified plan program you may be overlooking an important housekeeping issue: beneficiary designations. An improper designation could make life difficult for your family in the event of your untimely […]
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Choosing a way to save for your child’s education expenses may be your family’s first college planning decision, but it certainly won’t be the last. From making that first deposit, to selecting a college, to choosing a course of study, you and your child will be making choices that can have a financial impact for […]
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Money. It’s hard to get and easy to lose. It doesn’t take long for the wealth you’ve accumulated to disappear if you don’t manage your money well or have a plan to protect your assets from sudden calamity. Snares like the ones mentioned below could easily threaten your financial security. Planning ahead can protect you […]
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Americans’ confidence in their ability to retire in financial comfort has rebounded considerably since the Great Recession, but worker optimism leveled off in 2016. According to the 26th annual Retirement Confidence Survey — the longest-running study of its kind conducted by Employee Benefit Research Institute in cooperation with Greenwald & Associates — worker confidence stagnated […]
Read More →Posted by Richard on June 7, 2016
Some of your New Year’s resolutions may be to break a few of your bad habits and to take on some new, positive habits. If you’d like to improve your investing habits, setting up daily, monthly, and yearly routines may help. Daily Investment Habits Simple day-to-day routines may be the key to your investment success. […]
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The number of Americans covered by high-deductible health plans (HDHPs)/health savings accounts (HSAs) rose to about 19.7 million in 2015 — up from 17.4 million in 2014. On average, enrollment in HDHPs/HSAs has risen nearly 22% over the past two years.1 If you are new to HSAs and eager to take advantage of all the […]
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Several years ago, Jack’s father died. Jack grieved not only for his father’s passing, but also for his widowed mother who had been married to Jack’s father for 35 years. In due course, Jack’s mother remarried. However, when she eventually passed away, Jack suffered a double loss: Jack not only lost his mother, but also […]
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