MoneyLetter Blog
The latest insights on the economy and the markets, investment strategies, and retirement
What Is Asset Allocation and Why Is It Important?
Asset allocation is how investors divide their portfolios among different assets that might include equities, fixed-income assets, and cash and its equivalents. Investors ordinarily aim to balance risks and rewards based on financial goals, risk tolerance, and the...
Looking to Retire in Five Years?
If you are looking to retire in five years, now may be a suitable time to do a realistic retirement-needs analysis. The last five years before retirement may be a significant period, at least in terms of retirement preparation. This is because you must assess whether...
How Does a Recession Affect Retirement? 4 Ways to Prepare
Talk of a US recession has been on the rise as Wall Street investors continue to speculate on the potential risk factors of a struggling economy. Here's how you can prepare for a recession if you are retired. How Does a Recession Affect a Retired Person? After...
Risk Reduction Ideas for Today’s Higher Interest Rate World
Picking the right asset allocation was relatively easy for investors over most of the last 14 years. Since the end of the Great Financial Crisis in 2009, and with the fed funds rate sitting between zero and 2.5 percent, it’s been stocks, stocks, and more stocks. But...
10 Estate Planning Considerations
It’s easy to put off…no one likes to think about death or how things will be when you’re gone. But comprehensive estate planning is essential when it comes to arranging and distributing your assets after you pass. The peace of mind that comes to you when you know your...
Stock and Bond Volatility Highlights Value of Dollar Cost Averaging
Both stocks and bonds have been volatile over the course of this year. Throughout this period MoneyLetter’s advice has been to stay calm, stay the course, and if you have investable cash to invest it for the long term. Over the years we have suggested dollar cost...
Why Bonds Are Still Essential Investments
Give the stock market half a chance and it will dominate the financial headlines. That was certainly the case for the month of July, with the S&P 500 powering upward and bonds barely treading water. But August has been different, with the stock market hitting a...
Disney Gets Into Gambling With ESPN. Why Investors Could Hit the Jackpot.
Congratulations if you’re the winner of the Mega Millions jackpot, that’s a nice chunk of change. The bad news is that $1.6 billion doesn’t go as far as it used to. Time to think about how to invest your windfall. If you still see gambling as a winner, consider buying...
To Retire Someday, When’s The Right Time To Start Investing?
With constantly changing regulations, a market that seems to be continuously in flux, and inflation driving costs up across the board, it can be hard to know when and if you should start investing your money. So how do you know when you should start? When you’re able...
A Middle Way to Protect Your Portfolio from Inflation
Don’t go all out to boost income without taking account of capital risks. Let me take you back to the summer of 2018. It was the hottest on record for the UK. Inflation was running at less than 2 per cent, interest rates were at 0.75 per cent, and 18mn people watched...
High-Earning Retirement Savers Are Losing Some of Their 401(k) Tax Break
Millions of high-earning Americans are slated to lose a popular tax deduction starting next year. Savers ages 50 and older can make catch-up contributions in their 401(k) accounts each year, with eligible workers allowed to put an extra $7,500 into their accounts, for...
Where to Invest Right Now
Investors recently got another painful lesson in the dangers of trying to time the market. With cash flooding into money-market funds, the S&P 500 shot up more than 20% from its low in October. The investor skittishness is understandable. While a default of US...
Indexed Annuities: A Competitive Alternative to Bonds
Since the development of Modern Portfolio Theory by Harry Markowitz in 1952, and later the 60/40 model portfolio (60% stocks/40% bonds), little has changed in the realm of portfolio risk management and diversification over the past 70 years. Add the fact that over the...
What a Fed Interest-Rate Pause Means for Your Money
With stocks back in a bull market and inflation cooled, the Fed is expected to pause on raising interest rates. But remember, borrowing costs remain high after a year of Fed rate increases made it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home or a car. More recently,...
Things To Consider When Leveraging Real Estate To Build Wealth
Leveraging Real Estate To Build Wealth: Investors are constantly bombarded with conflicting information on debt, in small soundbites without much additional context. If you scour the internet for influencers’ takes on debt, you’ll see two major schools of thought: 1....
Secure 2.0: The Latest Retirement Plan Marketplace Update
Secure 2.0: The Latest Retirement Plan Marketplace Update. The new law has numerous opportunities for retirement investors and retirement plan sponsors. In this article, we'll discuss some of the newly created advantages and try to provide useful insights on how...
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