Retirement Watch Weekly
Loneliness – Men’s Greatest Health Threat
I’ll cut to the chase. Research shows that for middle-aged men the greatest health threat is loneliness. Research shows that men let their friendships lapse as they focus on careers and family. Over time, that cause a range of physical and mental health problems, and these problems get worse after retirement when the men no […]
Index Investing Isn’t Passive Investing
I’ve discussed this in the past. People tend to use the terms “index investing” and “passive investing” interchangeably. They’re not the same. It might be passive for you to invest in an index fund, but it’s also passive for you to invest in a non-index fund. The index fund itself is not passive, because indexes […]
Are Investors That Bad?
You might be familiar with the annual study from the firm DALBAR. You almost certainly have heard of the study if you receive communications from a brokerage firm or investment advisor. In a nutshell, the study compares the returns of buying and holding investments with the returns based on flows in and out of the […]
The Big Yawn About the Fed
Today is the market’s 7th anniversary of the 2009 stock index lows. Until recently, the seven-year stock market rise depended on easy Fed policies. Less than a year ago, a report that the Fed was about to raise interest rates would send panic through the markets but that no longer is the case. Last week, Chairman […]
The Case Against Warren Buffett – Is Robo Advising Better?
In his 2016 shareholder letter, Warren Buffett devoted a lot of space to arguing that individual investors shouldn’t try to invest like he does. They shouldn’t use mutual funds or individual stock picks to try to increase their returns. Individuals should invest in low-cost index funds, according to Buffett. Not every agrees. In a CNBC […]
The Backdoor Roth IRA
When your adjusted gross income is too high ($186,000 for married couples filing jointly in 2017), your ability to make a contribution to a Roth IRA is phased out. You can’t make a contribution. But there’s a backdoor way to make a Roth IRA contribution when you’re a high income taxpayer. The method works and […]
A Case for Preferred Stocks
We sold preferred stocks from the Retirement Watch portfolios last July. They’ve since declined a bit as interest rates rose. This article makes the case that preferreds are the only part of the markets potentially trading at a discount and in particular favors two preferred stock issues, both from banks. But the recommendation comes with […]
Midlife Crisis at 90 Years of Age?
This psychiatrist says that the traditional midlife crisis hasn’t been established by data (subscription might be required) but that in his practice he’s found more elderly are having episodes with the earmarks of a midlife crisis. He says these episodes usually are triggered by a series of losses and other events that are too much […]
