Category: Investing
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Unit Investment Trusts
Unit Investment Trusts was listed as one of the places baby boomers should consider investing their savings given the current volatile equity markets. It made the list at #3 and it was an investment I had never heard of. In summary, unit investment trusts (UIT) are a type of investment company, similar to mutual funds…
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Copycat Portfolios Are Dangerous
A recent Yahoo Finance article about copycat investing discusses the dangers of copycat investing, that is, copying the investment portfolios of some successful investors like Warren Buffett. It lists asset diversity, investment horizons, institutional knowledge/research, and cost as the main reasons why copy someone else may be a bad idea. I personally think that asset…
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Don’t Check Your Retirement Account Balance
This really only applies to people who are decades away from retirement. This week started off rough. Merill Lynch agreed to be purchased by Bank of America, Lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, and AIG looked about fifteen minutes away from also filing for bankruptcy protection. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over…
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Four Investment Tips from Tom Gayner
Tom Gayner is the Chief Investment Officer of Markel and one of the premier investors in the world. He’s so good that Legg Mason’s Bill Miller, a phenom in his own right, said that Gayner would make the perfect CIO at Berkshire Hathaway. Gayner has four investment tips gleaned from his comments by the Motley…
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Bear Market Means Stock Market Discounts
I you’re a young investor, with decades before you’ll need the assets in your retirement portfolio, this bear market should make you happy. While it’s difficult to swallow the losses your retirement account has made, think of it as a 20% discount on what you’ll be buying over the next few years rather than a…
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Don’t Ever Take Cold Calls
In our current economic climate, it’s easy to take a call from an unknown broker offering some hot stock tip. They’ll sometimes say “check out company XYZ, they’re about to be acquired or announce some hot news that will make the stock triple!” Of course, you could always buy the stock on your own but…
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Goal Saving Using Target Retirement Funds
A target retirement (or lifecycle) fund is a mutual fund that changes its asset allocation as time passes. The intent is to mirror what investors do as they are aging, shifting assets from riskier to more conservative investments. The funds were popularized the last few years because they handle all the heavy lifting, such as…
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Short Term & Long Term Capital Gains Tax
When it comes to taxes, it makes a big deal how long you’ve held your investments. If you’ve held your investments for over a year before selling, you are taxed at the long term capital gains tax. If you’ve held them for less than a year before selling, you’re taxed at the short term capital…
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Don’t Use Tax Advantaged Investments in 401K, IRA
Given the recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld the tax advantaged status of investments such as municipal bonds, you may be tempted to begin investing in these instruments. If you do, don’t invest in them through a 401K or an IRA (either Roth or Traditional). You want to take full advantage of their tax advantaged…