Retirement Watch Weekly
Bob’s Journal 2/6
The Fed Cuts, But Interest Rates Rise The Federal Reserve started reducing the interest rates it controls in September 2024. But the interest rates that the markets control, and that matter more to businesses and investors, steadily increased. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond hit a recent low of 3.63% on September 16, 2024. […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/23
Vanguard Pays $106 Million in Target Date Fund Settlement The Vanguard Group agreed to pay more than $106 million to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it made misleading statements to shareholders about its target date funds. The statements concerned estimates of capital gains distributions and the tax consequences stemming from […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/16
American Airlines Violated 401(k) Plan Rules A federal district court judge ruled that American Airlines violated the employer’s fiduciary duties to plan participants with the investment funds it offered in the plan. At issue was the plan’s choice to offer funds managed by BlackRock as the investment options in the plan. BlackRock publicly stated that […]
7 Key Retirement Finance Actions and Strategies for 2025
In my new Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I’ll share my newest breakthrough strategies for protecting your assets and growing your portfolio, including how to prepare for the next market downturn. Click here now to learn more. […]
Look for Higher Growth, Risk of Higher Inflation
How much of the good news and higher expectations are already priced into asset prices? November’s election results surprised both political and economic analysts. Investors quickly became more optimistic and repriced assets. Bitcoin had the biggest move. On Nov. 3, its closing price was $67,811. On Dec. 5, it closed above $100,000 for the first […]
The Essential Guide to Aging at Home
Long-term care no longer must mean moving to an assisted living residence, nursing home or continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Most people want to live the rest of their lives in their current homes, according to an AARP survey. But AARP estimates only about 10% of homes are fully prepared for aging in place. Fortunately, […]
The Easiest Way to Increase Investment Returns: Cut Taxes
Investors, especially retired investors, need to know how taxes dilute their investment returns and the actions they can take to optimize investment taxes. Investors on average give up 2.14% of their investment returns to income taxes, according to a study by Russell Investments. But investors in tax-managed investments pay only 0.92% of their returns in […]
Plan QCDs Early in the Year and Before Your RMDs
At the start of a new year, one of the first actions many of my readers should take is to plan the year’s qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs. QCDs should be considered first, because they can reduce the income taxes on your RMDs. Even if you don’t have […]
