Understanding how reverse mortgages can add value in retirement planning requires an understanding about the peculiarities of sequence-of-return risk that the reverse mortgage can help to manage.
Investors with short-term goals — such as buying a house in the next five years or paying college tuition — are generally advised against putting their funds in the stock market, since there might not be enough time for a portfolio to recover after a market sell-off. If you do have a significant chunk of your short-term savings in equities, you should be reviewing them with a view towards minimizing risk.
The live-streaming of Ukrainians' suffering as Russia wages an unprovoked war on the country has outraged much of the world. Governments are leveling devastating financial sanctions on President Vladimir Putin for his aggression, and many Americans are looking for ways to do their part.
The hottest inflation in four decades has prompted some employers to open the spigot on pay, but plenty still won’t budge -- leaving workers in the lurch with a pay cut.
When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, cryptocurrency fans appeared to be trapped in a decadent fantasy. A batch of CryptoPunk NFTs (blockchain collectibles) had just been yanked from auction at Sotheby’s amid fading enthusiasm and a broader market sell-off.
In his State of the Union address last night, President Joe Biden told Americans that he had a realistic plan for bringing down inflation. The agenda he laid out, however, has little chance of doing so.
The rush into Treasuries sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine has exposed fresh signs of weakness in the world’s biggest bond market, adding to pressure on U.S. regulators to detail a reform plan.
Eight days before Russia invaded Ukraine, I wrote an article saying there would be no war. I was certain of it. I was wrong. How could I get it so wrong? The more you knew about the situation, the more likely you were to get it wrong.
Recently, an advisor invited me to a Zoom conference where he demonstrated how he does precisely that. The prospect gave his permission for me to attend. Subsequently, I also observed the second meeting.
Help your clients see beyond the weekly budget. Help them enjoy the things they want and need.
Advisors need to understand how crypto markets work and how to make crypto part of a balanced portfolio to take advantage of this opportunity.
My father is about to celebrate a very big birthday. He retired at 60 and has been retired for 40 years. It makes me realize how very narrow minded we are in our profession about the way we speak about retirement.
The war bonds pay 11%, even higher than the ultra-popular U.S. inflation-protected debt that earns 7.12%. But unlike those American savings bonds, Ukraine’s debt comes with significant risk as Russia proceeds with its invasion of the country. Some retail investors are willing to take on that risk — and earn that double-digit payout — but right now that’s easier said than done.
With oil costing more than $100 a barrel, and Russia’s war in Ukraine underscoring the risk of relying on fossil fuel, it would seem like a great time to speed up the transition away from the polluting fuel. The reality isn’t so simple.
The same morning Russia invaded Ukraine, the people running the Church of England’s $5 billion pension fund decided they’d seen enough, and quickly went to work to clear their portfolio of Russian investments.
The bond market is dialing back expectations for how quickly and steeply the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as Russia’s war in Ukraine threatens to exert a drag on global economic growth.
Something still feels broken in the labor market. There are many jobs and wages are up. But there is also a sense of uncertainty and misery. Service jobs can be grueling, and despite recent growth, people’s wages over the course of their careers aren’t increasing as fast as they once did — especially when you account for inflation. And every day brings more technology that might one day take your job.
Global commodity markets surged to multiyear highs on Wednesday after traders backed away from Russia, sparking anxiety that supply will fall short in everything from wheat to natural gas.
ICYMI: In this roundup, we’re highlighting the five most popular pieces of content from the previous week.
Those intending to shame or attack "the rich" commonly make an absurd comparison when they lump together "millionaires and billionaires."
We have announced our Venerated Voices awards, representing the most-read market commentaries, authors and firms.
U.S. politicians from New York to California are calling for public pensions to shed hundreds of millions of dollars in investments tied to Russia. So far, the retirement funds aren’t moving quickly to divest. In many cases, they can’t.
Another firm has jumped into the race to deliver the first U.S. exchange-traded funds that would allow investors to make leveraged bets on a single stock.
The combination of high U.S. inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has discombobulated U.S. markets. From Friday to Monday, traders effectively reduced the number of expected rate increases by the Federal Reserve to six from seven by next February, even though, by most accounts, the inflation outlook has only worsened.
Central banks have been a powerful tool to steady the global economy in crises past. Their ability — and willingness — to do so now is constrained. The terrain is tougher and the costs of a rescue are higher.
Canada is registering more and more ETFs each month, rapidly expanding offerings in a market where the average fund is roughly a 10th the size of its U.S. counterpart. Newfangled funds -- not least those pegged to Bitcoin -- are responsible for some of the glut as Toronto upholds its mantle as an industry laboratory.
Inject targeted marketing content in a stepwise approach and be patient while the relationship builds as marketing prospects see and consume your content.
Gauges of money market stress remain elevated after hitting their highest since 2020, though bank strategists don’t see the turbulence escalating into a full-blown crisis.
If there ever were a strategy to come close to being a sliver bullet for marketing, it’s texting. Before you click away from this screen, hear me out.
Here are some creative features to add to lazy, unappealing job postings so you can poach talent from your competitors.
Interest-only variable annuity policies have zero commissions, no surrender charges and low annual M&E and admin fees plus various subaccounts that span traditional and alternative investment strategies.
The Rest of the Story was a radio show that aired from 1942-2008. Host Paul Harvey revealed little known facts that were previously not reported. The rest of the Federal Reserve story is that it is just pretending to be in control, and the rest of the Russian invasion story is about China and the U.S. dollar.
Though there are 1 million donor-advised fund (DAF) accounts in the country, many clients are still not aware of how they can help them in their desire to support the charities and causes that are important to them.
In the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld: “You don’t even know what a write-off is.”
Investment professionals liken trading against small, uninformed investors to shooting fish in a barrel. With the GameStop saga in late 2020, however, the fish started shooting back.
Mohamed El-Erian, who last year predicted inflation would be the problem it is now, says investors should “just be humble and have humility” to navigate the heightened geopolitical uncertainties after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tragically, life has been upended for those who were living in a peaceful Ukraine only a few days ago. Now their country is under intense military attack and creeping occupation. Many fear for their lives. Others have become refugees.
Wartime reporting typically focuses on troops in combat, civilians in the crossfire or, sometimes, the effect of sanctions. But behind the scenes more decentralized mechanisms are exerting their influence, often based on economic logic. These forces are mostly working against Russia and for Ukraine.
As of the end of last week, markets were in an emphatic “risk-on” phase. After the initial shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the S&P 500 had regained a stunning 6.6% in two days’ trading. I argued that the market was working on the assumption that Vladimir Putin would get what he wanted, and that the world could live with this.
With oil again surging as governments step up sanctions on Russia, yield curves signaling growing apprehension over growth and concerns mounting about 2008-style liquidity crunches as the dollar surges, pressure on economies is rising. Should it result in a full-blown downturn, it will become much harder for equities to stay resilient.
Gold climbed as Western nations escalated sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, heightening fears of a hit to global economic growth.
This article, which is written for clients, explains that direct indexing portfolios are broadly diversified with individual stocks that are personalized to meet the needs, values, and preferences of an investor.
The academic evidence against active management is mounting. New research shows that information is incorporated into security pricing far too quickly for investors to profit from it.
Yale Professor Robert Shiller’s Cyclically Adjusted Price-to-Earnings ratio (CAPE) is a respectable predictor of the future real return of the stock market, but it underwhelms when used on its own to set stock exposure. We examine a better way of using CAPE, with much better results.
On Wednesday, Musk claimed he’s been “building a case” against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which he accused of starting a fight with him that he will finish. The SEC likely would beg to differ with this retelling and point to Musk’s August 2018 tweets about taking Tesla private, which the agency alleged amounted to securities fraud.
The S&P 500 Index officially fell into a correction on Tuesday, tumbling 10% from its record high on Jan. 3. The benchmark for U.S. stocks extended its decline on Wednesday, dropping as much as 1.8%. The word “correction” implies something was “wrong” with stocks.
Oil’s surge to $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 represents a double-blow to the world economy by further denting growth prospects and driving up inflation. That’s a worrying combination for the U.S. Federal Reserve and fellow central banks as they seek to contain the strongest price pressures in decades without derailing recoveries from the pandemic.
Gold surged to the highest since 2020 after Russian forces attacked targets across Ukraine, triggering the worst security crisis in Europe since World War II and crushing risk sentiment.
The unfettered boom in ESG debt has created some accounting concerns that are in urgent need of regulatory attention, according to Europe’s markets watchdog.
A world economy that’s still recovering from Covid-19 faces new risks from an energy-price spike as the standoff between the West and Russia escalates.
