Is Retirement Investing Dead?
January 17, 2012 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
I both laughed and cried when I read a recent Forbes article listing five reasons why investing is dead. I laughed at the title but cried when I realized that each of the reasons listed had validity.
Your Retirement Plan in 2012: Stocks Up or Doomsday?
December 27, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
So have you thought about what changes 2012 might bring to your retirement nest egg and income plan? I haven’t posted in a while but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about our economic future. Indeed, I have been contemplating what moves to make, if any, between now and the end of the year to plan for what lies beyond.
Vanguard Enters the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Space
Lots of insurance companies sell variable annuities. Because the fees are high, they make a lot of money in the process. Baby boomers who are approaching retirement are a huge market for annuity companies. However, a lot of us have been (finally) educated about the negative aspects of variable annuities and have resisted buying. Then came the Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) rider. This changed the annuity landscape.
It Seems that Congress Doesn’t Want Us to Retire
November 22, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
The Congressional not-so-super committee that was tasked with deficit reduction was a spectacular failure. I expected this and prepared our retirement portfolio for it. Yesterday as the market experienced yet another precipitous decline, the stop market order I placed on our U.S. stock index ETF (VTI) reached its trigger price and our shares were automatically sold as the market went down. At least this way we locked in some gains. I expect more bad news ahead and more declines. It is time to sit these out with less equity exposure.
Is Gold Worth the Risk as a Retirement Investment?
November 15, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
I periodically express my views on gold as a retirement investment. Generally I don’t get it, because many of those who advocate investing in gold generally own gold as a security blanket. In other words, they have no plan or strategy for selling it. They are waiting for the world economy to collapse entirely, at which time they will buy stuff with their gold. I have my doubts about that last part. Nevertheless, we own a relatively small amount of the GLD exchange traded fund. It’s gained about 38% over two years, with a lot of volatility in between.
Changing Asset Allocations
November 4, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
When I heard the news earlier this week of a possible referendum in Greece about the EU bailout and austerity plan, I entered a new limit order to sell our VEU shares (all world stock index except U.S.) if the share price dropped by 6%. It did and all of our shares were automatically sold. As I said earlier, I have had it with the volatility and general lack of benefit from owning this foreign stock ETF.
Investing for Retirement – Beware of Greeks and Referendums
November 1, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
The Euro Zone is a mess and Greece is a leading cause. Why do I care? Because the markets care. This is demonstrated by today’s negative reactions in the world markets to a strange and high risk decision by the Greek government: It is going to ask the voters to decide whether to accept austerity terms offered by the other EU governments to bail Greece out- again.
Prepare Your Retirement Portfolio for Supercommittee Failure
October 27, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
It’s portfolio damage control time again. Things are not going well for the Congressional “Supercommittee” that is working on “do or die” deficit reduction ideas. We are less than a month away from their deadline. Based on present information, you should assume that the committee will fail and prepare your portfolio for a significant downturn in the market.
A Refresher on Ways to Lose Your Retirement Nest Egg
October 19, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Investing for Retirement
Periodically we all need a refresher course or reminder of spending, saving, and investment strategies that are bad for our retirement plan. It can help to stare such a reminder in the face and then say “whoa, that’s me doing that.” In the past, I’ve been reminded in this way of a need to re-balance and/or reallocate our portfolio to improve its longevity characteristics.
Should You Undo Your 2010 Roth IRA Conversion?
Last year (2010) presented a unique opportunity for even high income earners to convert their traditional IRA or 401(k) account to a Roth IRA. I strongly considered doing that for our IRAs but after running some numbers, I decided against it. Many others pulled the trigger on the conversion. Subsequent economic conditions may have created reasons for some to “undo” their Roth IRA conversion.
