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In my last post I discussed the primary asset classes (stocks and bonds) and their various subdivisions.  In this post I will give an overview of some “alternative” investments.  First we should define what an alternative investment actually is.  There isn’t a precise definition, but broadly speaking it is an investment that is not one …

An asset class is a group of investments that have similar behavior and characteristics. When selecting investments it is vitally important to have estimates of three statistics for each asset class: Expected Return – the rate of return anticipated on average. Standard Deviation – the variability likely in those returns. Correlation Coefficient – the manner …

Many comparisons of vehicles with differing tax treatments are faulty because they don’t start at the beginning and go all the way to the end.  To perform a proper analysis, it is important to start with “Pat earns a dollar” and go all the way to “Pat spends the proceeds.” If the comparison starts with …

My last post mentioned at the end that many people purchase annuities for the guarantees.  I thought I would expand on that by posting here an analysis I did a few years ago of some examples of “market linked” or “equity linked” products with some sort of guarantee.  These “guarantees” are attractive propositions to those …

To make a case for annuities, advisors often compare the most expensive, tax-inefficient mutual funds to the most inexpensive variable annuities.  However, an objective analysis, will find that annuities appear to be poor choices in most (but not all) cases. To fairly compare the two (and remove compensation considerations), I used a 0.30% marginal cost …

Tax loss harvesting is the sale of securities in a taxable account that have declined in value since their purchase in order to recognize the loss for tax purposes.  Most people (including professional financial advisors) do this at the end of the year determining whether the transaction is worthwhile by comparing the immediate tax savings …

Here are a few common investment mistakes (in no particular order): Selecting investments without an overall plan. Many people have accumulated a hodge-podge of funds and individual securities without considering how they fit together.  They have a collection rather than a portfolio.  The individual investment selection (within the same asset class) is one of the …

I thought I would quantify the returns for delaying Social Security retirement benefits.  A retiree with a FRA (Full Retirement Age) of 66 could claim 75% of their benefit at age 62.  Using mortality tables (RP-2014) we can compute the return for waiting: Total Dataset Blue Collar White Collar Bottom Quartile Top Quartile M F …

There are a number of things that need to be addressed in financial planning, including, but not limited to: Insurance & risk management Employee benefits Estate planning Retirement planning Portfolio allocation Those items generally can be taken care of and forgotten about until you experience a life change of some sort (retirement or job change, …

Financial advisors disagree vehemently about (at least) three topics:  fees vs. commissions, active vs. passive management, and the subject of this article:  permanent life insurance vs. taxable investments. Assumptions & Observations First, a few general comments before I discuss the specific factors impacting this decision: While both investment and insurance vehicles may have poor performance, …

Rebalancing, according to Wikipedia, is “the action of bringing a portfolio of investments that has deviated away from one’s target asset allocation back into line.” How to do that optimally is the subject of this post. Below is a sample allocation to facilitate the following discussion of rebalancing. It should not be construed as a …

I try (I really do) not to be the grammar police, but there are three terms routinely – and improperly – used by financial professionals. I can’t sit idly by when even Warren Buffet (who I greatly respect) is getting it wrong. Now, after you read this, in at least one aspect you can be …

What spending order is optimal for a retiree who is older than 59½ having three types of accounts: a taxable account, a Roth IRA, and a traditional IRA with no basis? The default order is: Taxable (preserves tax deferral in the other accounts) IRA (no RMDs on the Roth, so this reduces future RMDs by …

What is the optimal mortgage an investor should have on their home? Should investments be liquidated to reduce the mortgage? Or, should the mortgage kept or even increased in order to increase the investment portfolio? Though these are common straightforward questions, the answers provided are often simplistic and incorrect. I would like to discuss this …

Retirement spending rates are very important. Even for those not yet retired, this report should be useful because it indicates how to set an appropriate goal to enable comfortable retirement. We generally try to use the phrase “achieve financial independence” rather than “retirement” since some folks don’t plan to retire; but, for the purposes of …

Periodically, the financial press discusses costs imbedded in various financial products, especially mutual funds. Some costs are explicit and fully disclosed, but many are not. We fully support disclosure of all costs so investors have information upon which to make good decisions. Quality financial professionals do not try to make less than their competitors, but …

The title of this post may be surprising considering one would rarely call term insurance an investment. I don’t sell insurance; however, I think there is investment opportunity in certain situations using a term policy with a return of premium rider (ROPR). Essentially, this is a normal 20- or 30-year level-term life insurance product, but …

The possibility of suddenly coming in to a large sum of money may be pleasant in our daydreams, but in reality, sudden wealth can cause a great deal of stress. The source of sudden wealth doesn’t necessarily have to be winning a lottery or receiving an unexpected inheritance. Many people face adjustment issues even from …

I have posted on How to Evaluate an Investment Advisor but thought it was worth another, somewhat different take on it focused more on recent investment performance. There are many things that we do that we believe will add value to the portfolio performance over time, but the big two are: Broad diversification across a …

Many people, familiar with the widely-accepted notion that risk and return go together, are unaware that this formulation is both incomplete and misleading. Let me restate it thus: “Return equals risk which doesn’t equal return.” Obviously, an explanation is in order. Return equals risk. Almost certainly, someone earning very high returns has run very high …