Newsletters
Forty-three percent of Americans spent more time planning their most recent vacation than planning for their retirement.1
Will you outlive your retirement income? How much liability insurance should you have? Should you add stocks to your portfolio? Are your financial expectations for the coming year realistic?
Our financial newsletters are designed to provide helpful information on a wide variety of financial topics. Simply click on one of the newsletter topics below to read the article in its entirety.
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March
HOT TOPIC: Sum of All Fears: Are Risk Aversion and Greed All in the Mind?
Do you change your investment strategy as the markets go up and down, or do you stay the course? As difficult as it may be, staying the course is usually the more advisable approach — but research shows that you may need to defy your brain to do it.
Pursuing Both Growth and Value
Maintaining a balance of growth and value investments may help investors add a new dimension of diversification to their portfolios.
Don't Let a Disability Cripple Your Family's Finances
One way to help protect against the financial ruin that a disability can bring is through disability income insurance.
Working for Social Security
There's nothing wrong with wanting to work in retirement, but if you decide to earn some extra income, make sure you understand how it will affect your Social Security benefits.
A Simple Way to Help Your Family
A letter of instructions, while not a legal document, can help your family cope during a difficult period by providing information that has no place in a will.
Most Recoveries Are Announced Months After They Begin
Because it can take so long for the National Bureau of Economic Research to determine when a recession began or ended, people who delay financial decisions until they are certain a recession is over are at a disadvantage because they may be operating on old information.
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February
HOT TOPIC: Does the Estate Tax Have a Future?
For the first time since 1915, the federal government has no law in place to tax large estates when they are transferred to heirs. But will Congress allow the estate tax repeal to stand?
Are You Making These Cash Mistakes?
With interest rates at historic lows, what should you do with the money you save?
Patching the Alternative Minimum Tax
The future of the AMT is uncertain, yet it is important to consider the possible effects of the AMT on your tax situation.
Tips for Healthy Life Insurance
If you are about to retire or have recently entered retirement, it's a good time to consider whether your current life insurance policy meets your needs.
What Does a Fed Chairman Do?
The Federal Reserve plays an important role in our economy, and the chairman is its most visible player. His behavior is a good source of clues about what the future may hold.
Don't Forget the World
If your portfolio doesn't include some global equities, it may be missing a key dimension.
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January
HOT TOPIC: What's Ahead for 2010?
Economists expect the economy to grow by a respectable 3% in 2010, but they don't hold out much hope for the employment situation. What else can investors and consumers expect from the coming year?
Are Target-Date Funds Off Target?
Target-date funds are not for everyone, so it's important to gather all the facts.
The Benefits of Social Security
Take this quiz to assess how much you know about Social Security benefits.
Love and Marriage and Retirement
More than 80% of married couples 45 to 72 say they don't agree on when they should retire, what their retirement lifestyle should look like, or whether they will work in retirement.
Beware the Better-Than-Average Effect
Economists have found that, on average, people tend to believe that their own lives are improving at a faster rate than most everyone else's.
When Tea Leaves Won't Do
Economic indicators can be a good source of clues about trends, but it takes experience and skill to interpret their meaning.
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December
Hot Topic: 2010: The Year of the Roth Conversion?
Starting in 2010, anyone, regardless of income, can convert retirement plan assets to a Roth IRA.
An Extra Layer of Protection
Umbrella liability insurance can help protect a family from the financial ruin that a civil liability trial could bring.
Getting the Right Mix
Asset allocation is the process of dividing investment dollars among asset classes that often behave differently in different market cycles.
New Year: Check and (Re)balance
Even if people have become jaded about making new year's resolutions, it shouldn't stop them from doing what they need to do to accomplish their financial goals.
Mark Your Calendar
Once we approach the end of our working years, birthdays take on a renewed importance.
Ready or Not, You're Retired!
In 2009, 47% of retirees left the workforce earlier than they expected.
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November
HOT TOPIC: Investors Flock to Bond Funds, But What Happens When Rates Rise?
Investors are on track to invest 11 times more money in bond funds in 2009 than they will invest in stock funds. This is not surprising, considering the market volatility in 2008, but are these investors operating on false assumptions about the capabilities of bond funds?
Playing Catch-Up with Contributions
Something as simple as increasing your contributions to tax-advantaged retirement programs can go a long way toward helping you pursue your long-term financial goals.
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October
Estate Conservation You Can Trust
Trusts are popular estate conservation tools that can help facilitate the smooth transfer of estate assets and maintain the family’s privacy.
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July
Get Your Retirement Reality Check
A retirement needs-calculation goes beyond the commonly suggested target to have 70% of pre-retirement income.
Higher Education Pays, But So Will You
It’s likely that admission to the nation’s top colleges and universities will remain competitive, but adequate college savings can help ensure that a student’s opportunity to attend his or her school of choice is not compromised by the lack of resources.
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June
HOT TOPIC: Social Security and Medicare in Crosshairs
An entitlement crisis has been looming on the horizon for several years. Unfortunately, according to the latest reports from the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, a spike in unemployment has helped to hasten the arrival of these programs’ insolvency.
Estate of Emergency?
To help ensure that an estate is distributed according to one's wishes, it’s important to have certain legal documents in place.
Testing Your Liability Limits
This quiz tests the reader’s understanding of personal liability.
The Positives of Negative Correlation
Few asset groups are perfectly negatively correlated, but a portfolio may still be able to benefit from the correlation principle.
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April
Income Now or Later
Immediate and deferred fixed annuities are insurance products that could help retirees safeguard some of their nest eggs and provide a steady income stream throughout retirement.
Defend Your Retirement from Inflation
Over long periods, inflation can pose a significant threat to quality of life for retirees, primarily because it reduces the purchasing power of their retirement incomes.
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