November 17, 2008 at 5:10 pm (Taxes)
When Barack Obama was preaching the message of “change” during his campaign, some of those changes included income taxes and how we invest our money. Now that he will be our next president, that change is more likely to happen. Depending on your situation, change could be good or bad for your net worth.
Here’s my take on a few changes we could see: http://www.bnd.com/business/story/545546.html
November 14, 2008 at 3:53 pm (Investments)
Everyone’s down about losing money in the market, but if you’ve gone with the flow your losses are not as bad. Investors who hire investment managers to actively pick stocks for a portfolio have lost more money than those who just buy an index, according to Standard & Poor’s recent report. The S&P 500 outperfomed 69% of active funds for the past five years. Its indicies for midcap outperformed 76% of actively managed mid-cap funds and its small-cap 78%. This is further proof on how hard it is to beat the market. In addition, index funds cost less, thereby giving you a little headstart in better returns. If you’re not working with an advisor who uses index funds, you’re getting too emotionally involved.
November 11, 2008 at 1:43 pm (Investments, Taxes)
No one likes to see his investment portfolio tumble, but the downfall is not all bad news. The lower stock prices provide an opportunity for saving on income taxes come April 15 and beyond. Usually we think of strategies to prevent us from paying taxes on higher incomes when the markets are doing well or our job is paying well. It actually works both ways. So if you’re depressed over losing money, cheer up. Here are ways you can use those losses to your benefit. .. READ FULL ARTICLE
November 7, 2008 at 7:50 pm (Investments)
Heard a comment from a colleague today that in a recession there are three things to invest in: gold, diamonds and guns. Hmmmm. Not sure that will bring wealth. Reminds me of pre-2000 when people were predicting Y2K doom. We all know what happened to them!
Fear drives these thoughts and leads to missing opportunities. Are you being rational with your financial decision-making? Those rational thinkers are the ones who will fare well in the long-term.
November 1, 2008 at 3:46 pm (Investments)
I found this interesting research to help calm fears: The years following the past 13 bear markets saw the average annual return of the S&P 500 stock index to be 44 percent from the bottoms, according to the Russell Investments Group. So if history repeats itself, we could see a good year next year. Of course, all this depends on unknowns such as the next president and the smoothing of credit markets. But the lesson is not to panic, it may not be so bad afterall.
