Retirement Watch Weekly
Why to Own Gold
Gold doesn’t receive much thorough, academic attention as an investment. It’s generally the province of gold bugs, gold haters, and technical traders. That’s why I’m interested in this paper from Claude Erb of TCW and Campbell Harvey of Duke University. There’s a lot of detail in the paper, covering both the demand and supply for […]
Attacking Reverse Mortgages
For many years in Retirement Watch I’ve presented a balanced view of reverse mortgages. These are tools for seniors to draw down their home equity without having to move from their homes or make payments during their lifetimes. I’ve maintained they are good tools in some situations and detailed those situations. The new Consumer Financial […]
Health = Wealth in Retirement?
A high percentage of American seniors die having few or no financial assets and depending on Social Security for their income. Of those with few assets, a high percentage of those are single and don’t live as long. These are the conclusions from a new study published by professors from MIT, Dartmouth, and Harvard. The […]
Sorting Through Preferred Stocks
Preferred stocks provide above-average income with no more risk than long-term treasury bonds or stocks. One way to invest in preferreds is through an exchange-traded fund. But there are details about preferred stock ETFs that many people don’t know, and the preferred stock ETFs are not the same. Barron’s this week has a good, brief […]
The Cult of Stocks
That’s what Bill Gross is attacking in his latest monthly essay. Gross’s timing confuses some. PIMCO started adding an equity mutual fund division to its wide array of bond offerings just a few years ago. While one part of PIMCO tries to convince investors to buy its stock funds, Gross continues to argue that stocks […]
August 2012
August 31, 2012 05:45 p.m. Your Retirement Finance Week in Review Ben Bernanke’s given his important Jackson Hole speech, indicating the Fed might take more action at its September meeting. But what, if anything, will Europe do? And what about the fiscal cliff in the U.S.? Will China suffer a hard landing? There’s a lot […]
Understanding and Using Estate Planning Trusts
Trusts are an essential part of Estate Planning, not only for the rich and famous. They’re also simpler than many lawyers and estate planning professionals make them seem. Almost every-one needs a working knowledge of trusts to ensure estate planning is effective. It’s easy to obtain that knowledge. A trust is simply a contract between […]
Life Insurance as Savings and Investment
Investors are pouring money into an old investment: life insurance. That’s right. Life insurance can be an investment. Before interest rates were deregulated a few decades ago, life insurance and passbook savings accounts at the local bank were a major vehicle for saving and investing for many people. It became less popular after money market […]
