Perhaps you are familiar with an annuity. The basic premise is that you convert a lump sum of money into a stream of income. Unlike an investment, once you commit a fixed amount of money to the insurance company, that company is contractually obligated to provide you a minimum level of income with the option to continue receiving it as long as you live. All guarantees are backed by the financial strength of the issuing insurance company.
Read MoreThere are different formulas for launching highly successful companies. First, create a product that solves a problem that no one knew they had — for instance, how online search engines replaced encyclopedias. Then, there are ideas that help solve problems that plague millions of people.
Back pain, for example. Not only do approximately eight in 10 adults experience low-back pain at some point in their lifetime, but it’s also the most common cause of job-related disability.
One individual who suffered severe back pain while sitting at work all day decided to invent a new kind of desk. This desk would allow him to stand while he worked, alleviating his back pain. This man was a co-founder of VARIDESK, a new type of office furniture manufacturer. But this new company didn’t just enter the office supply industry; it introduced a new sales model that was key to its rampant success: Selling online direct to consumers.
Read MoreIn 1985, only 10 percent of people aged 65 and older were either in the workforce or job hunting. Today, that share has doubled, for a couple of reasons. First, fewer 65-year-olds have enough money to retire. Second, the number of people in this demographic with a college degree has more than doubled (53 percent today vs. 25 percent in 1985).
Read MoreFinancial literacy has always been a challenge. However, now that much of the burden of retirement income has shifted to employees instead of employers, it is all the more important that we begin teaching the principles of saving and investing to people as early as possible.
Read MoreWhen the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, the hope was companies would spend their influx of money on expansion and increased jobs and wages. Instead, public companies’ most popular way to spend the excess capital has been to buy back their own stock.
Read MoreMarch 9, 2019, marked the 10th anniversary of the current bull market, the longest-running in U.S. history. In that decade, the market more than quadrupled, and when you factor in dividends, it’s up fivefold.
The short-term spikes over the past few years coupled with corporate share buybacks have served to keep performance humming. As we move forward, a few points of note:
Read MoreWhen Lessie Brown, a 114-year-old woman from Ohio, passed away in January, her family attributed her longevity to the fact that she ate a sweet potato nearly every day until she was well past 100.
Read MoreAccording to new research from Genworth, one of the nation’s leading long-term care insurance companies, Americans are both entering caregiver roles and requiring care at younger ages.
Read MoreU.S. stock markets were enjoying an eighth consecutive year of a bull market until volatility toward the end of 2018 erased all of the past year’s gains.1 In times like this, as share prices continue to bounce back and forth on a day-to-day basis, investors close to or in retirement often transition to more conservative investments. One option is the municipal bond market.
Read MoreThirty years ago, developed markets were seen as much more stable than smaller, emerging countries. But as political division and uncertainty permeates the West, the differences have faded, and emerging markets (EM) have shed the high-risk perception that accompanied foreign investment.
Sound government situations, conservative monetary policy and lower levels of debt were once staples of developed markets, while EMs posed higher risks with regard to politics and central bank policies. EM countries have evolved, along with their institutions and policies, while populist politicians have gained prominence in the West by touting the benefits of isolationism and protectionism.1
Read MoreRecent Posts
Ten Ways to Make Your Money Work Harder
Folks heading into retirement seem to always be wondering how to make sure their nest egg has everything they need. Today Jon goes over ten different ways to get more out of your retirement assets that may not seem obvious, such as correct Social Security timing, or proper tax planning, and many more.
Are You Taking On Enough, Too Much or Just the Right Amount?
We’re talking about risk – does your portfolio have too much, not enough, or just the right amount? Risk is something each individual must have determined for themselves, and today Jon talks about the best ways of accomplishing this, as well as how to minimize it if you are close to retirement and need to reallocate your next egg funds.
Exclusive vs. Inclusive Investing
There are many different approaches to investing in the stock market, but most fall under two categories: exclusive and inclusive. Exclusive means conducting thorough research on prospective companies and investing in a portfolio of select, thoroughly vetted securities. One of the advantages of this approach is that if an investor’s research pans out, he could have quite a cache of high-performing “winners.”
An unfortunate disadvantage is that most big “winners” in the market have at some point suffered declines of up to 50, 60 or even 90 percent on their way to success. That type of risk can be difficult for the average investor to stomach.
Money Resolutions to Benefit You in 2018
With the start of a new year comes the ideas surrounding improving your financial life and, more specifically, your plans for retirement. Today Jon goes over some resolutions you might have to help make that happen – solid ideas you can pick and choose from to benefit your plan going forward.
Making Sense of the Stock Market Roller Coaster
The stock market, even with its recent run-up, remains volatile and unpredictable. Today Jon talks about what this means for folks saving for retirement, and that they would be better off looking at the big picture rather than trying to keep track of the day-to-day market movement.