U.S. stock markets seemed hesitant this past week but continued into record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index saw small gains of less than a percent but still in the green for the fifth consecutive week. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index lagged and recorded a humble lo…Read More
A sound portfolio management strategy begins with asset allocation – that is, dividing investments among the major asset categories of equities (stocks), bonds, and cash. From there, you and you advisor can then make finer distinctions within each broad category. For example, within the equity cat…Read More
Mutual fund investors must be prepared to switch from one fund to another as economic conditions change. Today, the most common type of switching is likely to be from a stock mutual fund to a money market fund and vice versa. The biggest question is, when should a switch be made? Of course, there is…Read More
We scoured the nation to identify the best stock in every state. Here are the 12 publicly traded companies based in the Midwest that we picked. Our list of Midwestern stocks is diverse, ranging from the biggest blue-chip name in burgers to a small producer of salt and specialty fertilizers. A word o…Read More
Life in today’s America commonly finds families strewn across states and even scattered from one end of the continent to the other. With so many families now separated by hundreds and often thousands of miles, it may be extremely difficult to handle caring for older parents who live far away. When…Read More
Are you enticed by high-risk investments or are you a risk-averse investor? Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes. To help you get a sense of your risk tolerance, circle the responses that best describe your immediate reaction to each of the following statements. Try not to overth…Read More
Nearly all investors realize the importance of diversification to the investment process. Many may not be as familiar with the importance of asset allocation— dividing your portfolio into the appropriate mix of stocks, bonds, and cash. Although assets can also include real estate (homes, vacation …Read More
Investing in bonds feels like swimming against a powerful tide these days. Yields have risen sharply since Election Day, pushing bond prices down. The dynamic has made it tough to earn a positive return in high-grade bonds, which may suffer additional price declines. The problem is that a long era o…Read More
The odds of winning the lottery are astronomically long. Yet, the allure of pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars can tempt even the staunchest penny pincher. While there's no harm in playing your lucky numbers every now and again, coming down with a serious case of lottery fever can prove costl…Read More
For most of my life, I’ve been a spender. I loved going to the mall, shopping online, or browsing through stores on my days off. But that all changed when I made the decision to pay off my student loans in three years. Suddenly my spendthrift ways turned into cheapskate ways. No longer was I willi…Read More
