Dollar-Cost Averaging: For the Nervous Investor
Dollar-cost averaging—the practice of purchasing securities at fixed intervals and in equal amounts over time rather than in one lump sum—has long been used as a way to avoid jumping into the market at the wrong time. To illustrate how dollar-cost averaging, or DCA, works, consider an investor wishing to buy $10,000 worth of shares […]
Video Blog: How Not to Screw Up Your RSU’s
You’re feeling pretty confident these days. First, you’re doing awesome work at a great company, and second, your restricted stock units (RSUs) have vested. Now for the big question: When do you cash your shares out? If you’re like most RSU recipients, you plan to hold on to your shares for a year before selling. […]
The Gift of Smart Tax Planning
Smart tax management has always been a good way to help grow and preserve your wealth. But now it’s even more powerful. The reason: Federal income tax changes that took effect in 2013 have raised the rate for those with high incomes. As a result, every dollar that you save in taxes is worth more […]
Your Money & the Markets in December
As 2014 draws to a close, the U.S. is still experiencing a slow and longer-than-normal recovery. GDP: The GDP growth rate in the third quarter was boosted to 3.9%, up from 3.5%, and well ahead of expectations of 3.3%. A lot of that improvement was due to high-quality items—more consumer and business spending. Unfortunately, that […]
Mutual Funds: Foreign Exchange Rates Can Crush Your Returns
The U.S. dollar is on a roll lately—gaining strength and trouncing currencies like the Euro and the Japanese yen. The dollar index, which compares the greenback’s value with basket of world currencies, is at a four-year high. But is the strengthening dollar and weakening foreign currencies good news for you? For consumers, yes: A strong […]
Your Money & the Markets in November
Recent U.S. economic reports, while not always meeting expectations, suggested more of the slow and unsatisfying growth rates of the past four years. Businesses are looking and feeling more optimistic at a time that both U.S. and international consumers are sitting on their hands. GDP: GDP numbers have been volatile lately, with wild quarter-to-quarter swings […]
Why Athletes Lose the Money Game
As the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals prepare to square off in the World Series, it’s worth mentioning that both team’s players are already winners—at least when it comes to their bank accounts. The teams’ combined payrolls are a whopping $238 million. That means many of the players have the kind of […]
Get a Tax-Smart Plan for In-Retirement Withdrawals
The following sequence may make sense for retirees to preserve the tax-saving benefits of tax-sheltered investments for as long as possible. 1) For retirees over age 70 1/2, the first stop for withdrawals are those accounts that carry required minimum distributions, or RMDs, such as Traditional IRAs and company retirement plans such as 401(k)s (to […]
Your Money & the Markets in September
The U.S. market was up 4.19% in August after a modest pullback in July. Some of the drivers of the stock market included monetary policy news from Europe as well a number of generally positive economic news out of the U.S. Europe: The ECB announced it was reducing several key lending rates and raising the […]
The Big Social Security Question: When?
When we’re far from retirement, Social Security seems so simple: You pay your taxes during your working years, and when you stop working, you receive a stream of income. But as you get closer to actually retiring, Social Security begins to look about as simple as a Rubik’s Cube. That’s because a dizzying combination of […]