The Cautious Investor

English Economist John Maynard Keynes famously compared financial markets to a strange sort of beauty pageant run by London newspapers in his time. The papers published an array of photos, and readers could enter a contest in which the winner was the reader who guessed which faces would be chosen by the most other participants.…

Many retirees rely on their investments to generate part of the income that funds their lifestyle. Like Social Security, this portfolio income must be sustainable throughout their retirement and gradually increase over time to offset inflation. This is true even though most retirees usually have some flexibility in their yearly wants and needs and retirement…

Increasing education costs have led to young adults and their parents accumulating significant amounts of debt. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, it costs about $100,000 to attend a four-year public university, and nearly $200,000 for a private four-year school.* Even for new parents with the benefits of a longer time horizon, the…

One frequently overlooked tax benefit is the “spousal IRA.” Generally, IRA contributions are only allowed for taxpayers who have compensation (the term “compensation” includes: wages, tips, bonuses, professional fees, commissions, alimony received, and net income from self-employment). Spousal IRAs are the exception to that rule and allow a non-working or low-earning spouse to contribute to…