Top 10 Personal Finance Best Practices
As more investors seek out and embrace personalized asset management and individualized financial advice, industry tycoons Vanguard and Russell Investments researched the value created by professional advice. Both companies measured the impact on investor returns when partnering with an advisor who provides skilled management and guidance. Russell Investments identified up to an additional annualized […]
Behavioral Finance and Asset Allocation
Summary Points: We simply have to watch money flow to know how “average investors” behave. Investor emotions typically run opposite to sound decision making. Sound allocation planning can provide other positive impacts on your overall plan. An emotional investor is very likely to make poor decisions over his or her financial life. Various […]
Behavioral Finance and Asset Allocation
Summary Points: We simply have to watch money flow to know how “average investors” behave. Investor emotions typically run opposite to sound decision making. Sound allocation planning can provide other positive impacts on your overall plan. An emotional investor is very likely to make poor decisions over his or her financial life. Various […]
Asset Allocation Factors: Time and Emotion
When we meet with a new client, one of our tasks is to determine an appropriate asset allocation for the funds they invest. At a very basic level, the question we are trying to answer is “what percentage of the investment portfolio will be comprised of equities (stocks), and what percentage will be fixed-income (bonds)?” […]
Asset Allocation Factors: Time and Emotion
When we meet with a new client, one of our tasks is to determine an appropriate asset allocation for the funds they invest. At a very basic level, the question we are trying to answer is “what percentage of the investment portfolio will be comprised of equities (stocks), and what percentage will be fixed-income (bonds)?” […]
Managing a Household Allocation
One of our mantras in planning is to “Know What You Own.” Peter Lynch popularized this term during his management of a Fidelity mutual fund in the 1980’s, and we think it applies to more than just investments. Your home, your health insurance, your business, and yes, your investments each have features, risks, and opportunities […]
Managing a Household Allocation
One of our mantras in planning is to “Know What You Own.” Peter Lynch popularized this term during his management of a Fidelity mutual fund in the 1980’s, and we think it applies to more than just investments. Your home, your health insurance, your business, and yes, your investments each have features, risks, and opportunities […]
The Ballast Roth Manifesto: Why We Believe Roth is for the 99% AND the 1%
Join us for a live discussion about Roth savings on January 27th, 2022 at 4 PM on ballastplan.com/live. Our advisors will be discussing this article and answering any questions. One of the biggest mistakes a retirement investor can make is to believe the common wisdom that Roth savings are only for low income-earners. Yes, […]
Optimizing Required Minimum Distributions
Key Takeaways The IRS made a retiree-friendly tweak to its RMD schedule for 2022 When to best take retirement distributions can be opposite for two similar investors Engage Us: We do our best work when we know your updated situation We’re only a week into 2022 and I have already spent a few […]
Social Security Income: Not-So-Simple Basics
When I first started writing this article, my introductory sentence was “Social Security on the surface is a very simple concept.” However, as I began to write about all of the “simple” information, I have to conclude that Social Security is not very simple at all if you are not continually dealing with it. Below, I will […]
Getting Creative with College Funding
In our previous discussions about college planning, we’ve discussed where and how much to save while acknowledging that these questions require several assumptions. Is it sensible to make saving for college a major financial goal when there’s no guarantee the child will attend? That’s a tough question for families and for this reason, we favor educating […]
Counteract Inflation with Your Financial Assets
Key Takeaways Inflation in October 2021 was 6.2%, the highest in nearly 30-years. From 1914 to 2021, average inflation in the U.S. has been around 3.2% and the average return of the market (i.e., S&P 500) has been around 10-11%. While not without risks, investing in equities is a tested long-term hedge against inflation. […]
