Vanguard announced in June 2015 it was planning changes to its benchmarks for foreign index stock market funds. Those changes start now and it is good news for investors. The News Vanguard announced on November 1, 2015 that its Emerging Markets Fund (VEMAX/VEIEX/VWO) will now start to transition to a new tracking index over a 12-month period. The change will be to an index that covers a larger … [Read more...]
Five Essentials for Financial Wealth
Creating financial wealth requires understanding five essentials; investing concepts that really work if you apply them to all your investment decisions. It would be nice if we could all make investments like a machine, and "set it and forget it," but because we are human, it is near impossible to do. We are emotional creatures, not Mr. Spock. Even so, knowledge is power. Consider these five … [Read more...]
Wealth is Not What You Possess – Part 3
Wealth is the ability to independently make lifestyle choices in accord with one’s needs, values, and goals, and do so in a way that provides for survival, security, freedom, and the opportunity for successful achievement of one’s chosen goals. As discussed in the last article, trade-offs between lifestyle and income determine your ability to save, and the ability to save is a means to reach … [Read more...]
Wealth is Not What You Possess – Part 2
The lifestyle choices we make determine our spending, and they really matter. What you earn is important, but how you spend is just as important. Second of three in a series. The lifestyle choices we make determine our spending, and they really matter. As detailed in the last article, the apartment or home you live in, how you travel, and what you spend on food, are the most important. According … [Read more...]
Wealth is Not What You Possess – Part 1
Wealth is not how much material things you possess. Wealth means having what you need when you need it. Before considering wealth or even saving, consider your chosen life and lifestyle. First of three in a series. Why do we work, earn, spend, save, and invest? Did we choose a particular lifestyle because of what we earn, or did we earn the amount needed to live a particular lifestyle we have … [Read more...]
How to Manage and Rebalance Multiple Accounts
It is easy to accumulate multiple investment accounts. While it may not always be practical to consolidate them, there are effective strategies to simplify their management and track your asset allocation. It is not dangerous to use just one firm for all accounts, as long as it is reputable mutual fund firm using a third party custodian. Here is a pretty realistic breakdown of investment account … [Read more...]