Posts Tagged ‘investments’
Frequent Changes in a Portfolio Seldom Produce Desired Long Term Results.
There were no lakes large enough in South Dakota to entice anyone to go sailing until the mid-1950’s when the 37 mile long reservoir of Lewis and Clark Lake was formed on the Missouri River near Yankton. Locals then took to the sport in earnest. A sailing club was formed. Races were scheduled, and in…
Read MoreDon’t Ask Your Portfolio To Do More Than It Is Designed To Do.
Some people want more from their investment portfolios than gains and income. Like other major arenas in life—some load more baggage onto a portfolio than it is designed to carry. Making more money guarantees nothing except it will make a person wealthier. An unhappy person will be an unhappy investor. Assuming grinding poverty is not…
Read MorePsychological Factors Magnify and Prolong the Negative Impact of Market Losses
Wealthy people can take losses in their retirement portfolios lot easier than middle-income households who have plans for every dime that they have invested. But investors with large portfolios—portfolios that could be reduced by half and still not put their retirement in jeopardy—often fail also to employ coping strategies that help in rough times. In…
Read MoreHow Much Should the Middle-Income Household Risk in the Market?
Middle-income families often do not have the resources to employ financial advisors. Yahoo Finance states that middle-income households have an average of approximately $110,000 set aside for their retired years. Financial advisors and brokers at major firms like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Paine Webber are looking for mega buck accounts—accounts with $250,000 or…
Read MoreMiddle-class Income and Want to Beat Average Market Returns? Forget it!
Most middle-class families didn’t have much wealth to begin with — about $100,000. For the 22 million families right in the middle of the income distribution (those making between $39,000 and $62,000 before taxes), about 90% of their assets was in the house. Now half of their wealth is gone and it will never come…
Read MoreBanks – appearances count. Honesty not so much.
Someone wrote that the public tended to trust bankers even when they didn’t think that bankers were very bright. I don’t agree. Mediocrity is the goal at banks. Appearances, however, are of overriding important. I was with a large bank in the Southeast for nearly ten years. A couple of stories make my point. The…
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