Portfolio goals

In our last piece, we covered fund management costs. Next, let’s take a step back from the mutual funds, ETFs, or other holdings you decide to invest in. Where do these holdings live — and what does it cost to buy, sell, and hold them?

An Account of Your Accounts

What are your investments really costing you? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone. It’s not like you’re handed a menu of charges to choose from when it’s time to place your order. Even when you know where to look for investment costs, the information can be difficult to digest.

Every January, it’s typical to reflect on market data from the year past. You’ll see the results in your own quarterly reports, as well as across the usual flurry of broad market analyses.

So far in our investment basics series, we’ve explored the history of investing, how important it is to save (so you have money to invest), how to invest efficiently in broad markets, and why to avoid chasing or fleeing rising or falling prices.

In our last piece, we described our marvelous markets, and how to account for their being both robust and random at the same time. Today, we’ll look at how stock pricing works, and why Nobel laureate William F.

In our last piece, we introduced the importance of saving, which is the first of five basics that have served investors well over time. Today, we’ll look at where stock market returns really come from, and why that matters to your investing.

This has been a challenging year for investors. On top of the equity bear market, the steep losses in bonds¹ have been especially surprising, leading some investors to question whether the classic 60/40 portfolio is dead.

Well, it’s official. The third quarter has ended in bear market territory across multiple markets. To place that news in a meaningful context, we pose two questions:

It’s almost Election Day in the US once again. For those who need a brief civics refresher, every two years, the full US House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for reelection. While the outcomes of the elections are uncertain, one thing we can count on is that plenty of opinions and prognostications will be floated in the days to come.

Inflation is seldom a good thing, but when it comes to investing, the U.S. Treasury Department has an inflation opportunity that’s downright amazing. You can buy bonds that pay 9.62 percent interest — tax-deferred — with no downside risk, and with no state or local income taxes when you cash them in.