Articles by Richard Dragotta, ChFC®, CRPC®, RFC®
Nearing Retirement? Financial Advice Is Critical
Retirement planning has become an uncertain—and much more stressful—exercise for most Americans. Millions of workers watched their retirement nest eggs decline sharply in value in recent years, and “safe” investments such as money market investments and CDs have continued to offer relatively low short-term interest rates since then.
Consolidate Retirement Assets With a Rollover IRA
Consolidate Retirement Assets With a Rollover IRA The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that Americans change jobs about 10 times between the ages of 18 and 42.
Tis the Season for a Double Whammy
As most investors find it gut wrenching in facing the significant losses they haveincurred, could you be an investor that receives a "double whammy" this year? Imagine ifyou own mutual funds in a taxable account down significantly this year, only to find outnext year that you have unexpected tax bill! How can that be? Here's how many mutualfund investors could be taxed on a mutual funds
Correlating Your Portfolio..Go Negative
Asset Allocation
Regardless of how smoothly they operate, all individuals, organizations, industries, and economies routinely experience setbacks, ranging from minor inconveniences to major catastrophes. Even the most closely managed portfolio is not immune to setbacks.
Regardless of how smoothly they operate, all individuals, organizations, industries, and economies routinely experience setbacks, ranging from minor inconveniences to major catastrophes. Even the most closely managed portfolio is not immune to setbacks.
Great Expectations
Today, 51 percent of Americans aged 60 to 64 remain in the workforce. ¹ For these and other Americans, retirement doesn't mean slowing down. But from modifications in schedules, lifestyle, and income, retirement almost always brings change. Retirement is something that many people look forward to reaching, but it can have its challenges.
Take the Emotion Out of Investing
When asked to identify their investment mistakes, 36 percent of investors cited losing money as the most painful. ¹ Although no one wants to lose money, investors who stick with a long-term strategy may be better able to weather the periodic ups and downs in their portfolios. A buy-and-hold strategy using mutual funds may help take some of the emotion out of investment decisions.
How Should I Receive the Benefits from My Retirement Plan?
When it comes to receiving the fruits of your labor (the money accumulated in your employer-sponsored retirement plan), you are faced with two broad options. Should you take the payout as a lump sum or as an annuity? The Annuity Option If your retirement plan is inflexible, you may be forced to take the annuity option. Many company pension plans pay out in the form of an annuity.
How Does Asset Allocation Work?
“There are lies, damned lies, and statistics," the 19th century British politician Benjamin Disraeli once remarked. In spite of Disraeli’s apparent loathing, statistics have played a vital role in developing modern portfolio investment theory.
Work, Retire, or Repeat?
A recent survey found that many people retire without a plan for turning their accumulated savings into income. And 51 percent of retirees are unsure about which assets to tap first. 1If you are looking forward to a long retirement, it's critical that you develop a strategy to help ensure that your portfolio will last and support your lifestyle.
Striking a Delicate Retirement Balance
Striking a Delicate Balance
When the day comes for you to begin drawing a retirement income, will you know how much you can withdraw safely from your investment accounts? If you don't have a withdrawal plan, you may run the risk of taking too much and running out of money during your lifetime, or being too cautious and living on less income than you need to maintain your lifestyle
What Are the Different Classes of Assets?
When it comes to investing their money, many people are content to take a random approach. They may have received a hot tip for a particular investment and decided to plow a large amount of money into it with no regard to the overall balance of their portfolios.
