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Articles tagged with: Investments

Should I Change My Asset Allocation When I'm About to Retire?

30 September 2018

Should I Change My Asset Allocation When I'm About to Retire?

It takes years to accumulate and grow your nest egg with disciplined saving and investing to an amount where you finally feel comfortable hanging up your spurs and starting the next phase of your life, Retirement.  Now you are about to start ticking off the items on your bucket list; perhaps traveling with family to amazing destinations, pursuing your passion in music or the arts or volunteering with some non-profit organizations. Your portfolio, on the other hand, must continue to work hard for you in order to last at least your lifetime, and that can be 30 years or more.  

Why Invest in Bonds?

26 April 2018

Why Invest in Bonds?

In the year 2017, the US Bonds’ return was just 3.54%, much lower than stock market returns. Globally, stock market returns were great in 2017: US Stocks (measured by S&P 500 Index) 21.83%, International Stocks (measured by MSCI EAFE Index) 25.03% and Emerging Market Stocks (measured by MSCI Emerging Markets) 37.28%. Bonds, they say, are a pretty boring asset class. The stock market is far more exciting. That’s where the biggest returns are found and it’s also the segment that the financial media tends to focus on.

Should You Invest in Bitcoin?

28 February 2018

Should You Invest in Bitcoin?

In the past year myriad stories of how some people have become super rich by buying Bitcoin have been circulating on the internet. Even my ballroom dance instructor asked me last December if I had been investing in Bitcoin and when it would be the right time to get in. With all the hype, do you feel you may be missing out if you don’t own bitcoins? Should you invest in Bitcoin?

Alternative Fixed Income Strategies in a Rising Interest Rate Environment

27 July 2017

Alternative Fixed Income Strategies in a Rising Interest Rate Environment

After a long wait, the Fed finally did raise the federal funds rate by 0.25% last month.  You may not have noticed the impact in your financial statements yet, but investing in fixed income is becoming more challenging, because traditional bonds with fixed coupons or longer maturities typically recede in price as interest rates rise.  Bonds have performed well in the past decade but even they may struggle to deliver the total return you expect over the next few years.  So what can you do to reduce the interest risk in your portfolio?

Hedged Equity Strategy - Targeting A Smoother Ride for Equity Investors

30 May 2017

Hedged Equity Strategy - Targeting A Smoother Ride for Equity Investors

As the US stock markets have done well for the past 8 years, many investors wonder if their portfolios are positioned well for potential market corrections.  Though it is impossible to predict the future, expecting volatility in the coming years is a safe bet.  Market volatility is normal, and feeling uneasy about a lower portfolio value is normal too.  Historical analysis shows that pullbacks of 5% have occurred about once a quarter, and pullbacks of 10% are likely to occur once per year.  Large pullbacks greater than 20% tend to occur just once per market cycle.  It is especially important to be mindful about how to dampen portfolio volatility in the later stages of the business cycle.

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