Retirement
401k or 403b, Rollover to an IRA or IRRA. Good Idea?
#401(k) #403(b) #rollover #ira One of the first questions that you will face as a new retiree or after changing jobs is what to do with your 401k or 403b* retirement account that has been building up over the years. Leaving it with your former employer is usually one option, and it may appear attractive…
Read MoreReflections on Growing Older. Retirement and Its Rewards
#growing older #aging #retirement I don’t consider myself as “elderly” at age 72. The rest of the world may, but anyone who is at least 72 will still see me as I see myself—young, vital, and engaged with life. At times, of course, a reminder works into my awareness. Yesterday, for example, I got down…
Read MoreFrequent 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 MoreStressed Out Over the Market? Get a Measure of Your Tolerance for Risk.
NOTE: Risk tolerance is key to the design of any retirement plan. In earlier postings, readers were asked to complete the Flexible Retirement Planner (FRP) to find out how well their funds would hold up over their life expectancy, especially in supplementing their retirement incomes. Reading previous postings is important to understanding this article. Putting…
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 MoreRetirement Planning for the Middle-income Household, One Step at a Time – Part II
In Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Funds, Matthew Wirth and Morrie Clay work with wealthy people with large sums set aside for retirement planning. As pointed out in the first article in this series, that is not the case for the middle-class American household. In the first post, we accomplished two important initial steps.…
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