The Danger Zone (Retirement Success Threat #3 of 5). There are a few times in your financial life when the short-term view must be more closely monitored. One of these is what I refer to as the Danger Zone, or the several years right before and right after you retire. These are windows of opportunity that can drastically impact if and when you retire and how.
Inflation (Retirement Success Threat #2 of 5) The best way to protect your money from inflation is to invest it in assets that will appreciate in value over time. One of greatest risks you can take with inflation is to ignore it.
Market Risk (Retirement Success Threat #1 of 5) is the possibility that an individual or other entity will experience losses due to factors that affect the overall performance of investments in the financial markets.
According to the CFA Institute, systemic risk is "the risk of a breakdown of an entire system rather than simply the failure of individual parts."
To succeed in investing, it is important to recognize the unpredictability of the market and focus on the controllable factors. This involves developing and implementing an investment philosophy that aligns with your financial plan and that you can stick to through market fluctuations. Doing so will...
Your investment discipline may be tested by daily market news and commentary, with some messages causing anxiety about the future and others enticing you to follow the latest investment trend. It's important to...
Diversifying your portfolio can be more challenging than simply avoiding putting all your investments in one place. While this strategy can be helpful, it may not be enough to mitigate concentration risk, which involves the potential for amplified losses resulting from...
Many people struggle to separate their emotions from investing. Markets go up and down. Reacting to current market conditions may lead to making poor investment decisions.
You never know which market segments will outperform from year to year. By holding a globally diversified portfolio, investors are well positioned to seek returns wherever they occur.
Holding securities across many market segments can help manage overall risk. But diversifying within your home market may not be enough. Global diversification can broaden your investment universe.
There is a wealth of academic research into what drives returns. Investors can seek to use this information to pursue higher expected returns...
In the final days of 2022, Congress passed a new set of retirement rules designed to make it easier to contribute to retirement plans and access those funds earmarked for retirement. Take a look at our rundown of the new legislation and how it changes your retirement planning.