A Simple Global Market Portfolio consists of “all stocks, bonds and other assets that are readily tradeable. This is the mix of investments that’s owned by all investors worldwide and reflects our collective judgment of what different securities are worth” writes Jonathan Clements in the Humble Dollar weekly email. Sign up at https://humbledollar.com You can…
Category: investing basics
Take the Investor Literacy Quiz
Female investors are less likely than their male counterparts to be confident about long-term opportunities in U.S. financial markets, about their own investment knowledge and about making investment decisions. That’s according to “Mind The Gap: Women, Men and Investment Knowledge,” new research conducted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Investor Education Foundation and George Washington…
Volatility: Financial markets are going crazy… what to do now
With the wild swings in financial markets, how concerned should you be about your investments?First, remember that any money you expect to need within the next five years should never be invested in the stock market!This is not like the 2008 financial crisis. It’s been an 11 year bull market so too many investors have…
Wall Street Brokers missed the memo on Index Funds
“In recent years, investors have been flocking to low-cost index funds, driven by their long-term record of outperforming higher cost actively managed funds” writes Randall Smith in The Wall Street Journal (10/7/19). However, clients of Wall Street brokers have just 29% of assets in passive index funds according to a report by Cerulli Associates. The…
Investing $5,000 a year results in $1.2 million in 40 years so start now!
Wait… $5,000 x 40 $200,000. How did you get $1.2 million? The extra $1million is due to compounding.Writing for MarketWatch, Mitch Tuchman explains compound interest. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary has some simple advice for anyone who finds investing scary: Just do it. Now. “When you’re 21 years old, or 20 or 18 or 19…
Understanding Diversification with the Callan Periodic Table of Investment Returns
“The Periodic Table of Investment Returns depicts annual returns for 10 asset classes, ranked from best to worst performance for each calendar year.”https://www.callan.com/periodic-table/Click on: Download the PDF. I like this visual presentation of how asset categories fluctuate from yielding the highest returns one year to the lowest (or much lower) in subsequent years. The table…
Understand Key Concepts: Return and Rate of Return
When evaluating investment options or assessing the performance of your current investments, two concepts are key: return and rate of return. In this podcast, we explain both and how to use them to get the most out of your investments. Listen | 4 min. 45 sec. https://www.finra.org/investors/podcasts/key-concepts-return-and-rate-return?utm_source=MM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Investor%5FNews%5F053117%5FFINAL Source: Financial Planning for Women
A visual representation of investment diversification
Check out the Squared Away blog for an effective visualization of investment diversification. I used the Callan Table in teaching diversification to my university students. It’s a great way to understand why no one can predict future investment returns. http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/the-picture-of-investment-diversity/ Source: Financial Planning for Women
Investment Return and Rate of Return: What’s the difference?
Every investor wants to earn money on their investments. FINRA explains:“Investment return is the money you make or lose on an investment. Ideally, your return will be positive: your initial investment or principal will remain intact, and you’ll end up with more money than you invested.”“Total return is a measure of your profit or capital…
Investment Knowledge and Behavior: Ask Yourself These Questions
While the results of the recent FINRA Foundation study Investors in the United States 2016 are interesting, “what’s really valuable is to ask some blunt questions about your own investment knowledge and behavior.” Read five key findings, and some questions you should ask yourself. 1. Ask Yourself: Do you know what you own? You can…