This is the fourth and final guest post by Nathan Bush on 12 investing concepts. CONCEPT EIGHT—FIXED INCOME (BONDS) Unlike stocks, which are ownership in a company, bonds are a debt obligation that is owed to you. You can expect a return of the principal as well as Interest on the principal. The word Bonds is used interchangeably with Fixed Income in lots of financial literature because it … [Read more...]
12 Investing Concepts – Part 3
This is the third of several guest posts by Nathan Bush on 12 investing concepts. CONCEPT SIX—FEES It does cost money to buy, sell, and hold securities. If you need advice, that cost also (one-time fee or ongoing percentage of assets under management). The construction of indexes and funds cost money. There are sales commissions. It is your money but everybody wants some of it, and do … [Read more...]
12 Investing Concepts – Part 2
This is the second of several guest posts by Nathan Bush on 12 investing concepts. CONCEPT THREE—EMERGENCY FUND Everybody should have one. This eliminates the necessity of pulling money out of your retirement investment accounts when the stock market may be depressed or in a taxable situation. Size of the emergency fund is debatable. Some say three months; others say up to two years of living … [Read more...]
Clearing Up Four Investing Misconceptions
Warren Buffet says "Investing is simple but it is not easy." There are a lot of misconceptions about investing. Let's look at four big ones. Misconception #1 - Studying the financial statements of individual stocks and learning the techniques of how traders execute will improve my investment returns. This is a surprisingly common idea, that if we just learn enough that we can do better. I … [Read more...]
Knowledge is Essential to Investment Success
Success with investing means not only saving on investment costs and selecting the right allocation, but also having the confidence from knowledge. One of my biggest concerns about the trend towards robo-investing is that, at its core, the presumption is savers do not want or need to be bothered with knowledge or in-depth understanding about their investments. One online session does it all! … [Read more...]
How to Tune Out the Noise of Financial Markets
The fastest way to investment failure is listening to the siren song of the financial markets to "do something." Here are four strategies to help you tune out the noise and stick to your plan. Interest rates might rise. ISIS may strike again. US stocks are overvalued. The US dollar is too strong. Economic growth is too slow...this constant barrage of news is designed to make you act - to do … [Read more...]