Identity fraud is on the rise as reported here in the Wall Street Journal. More consumers became victims of identity fraud last year than at any point in more than a decade despite new security protections implemented by the credit-card industry, a report released Wednesday said. Some 15.4 million U.S. consumers were victims of identity […]
Do We Really Need to Convert to a Roth IRA?
So you’ve created a Roth IRA because: “My accountant suggested I convert to a Roth IRA.” I get it. Sure it could make sense long-term if the growth of the portfolio is good, and if the law remains the same. That’s too many ifs for me. To feel more comfortable I’d prefer you didn’t have […]
Working Millennials: Rent or Buy Real Estate? Part III
Buy of course! As I wrote to you in Parts I, and II the key for you is to be creative and get started: Make the jump from a life of paying “The Man” to one where you pay yourself. A simple concept, yet hard to do. What did I do when I was your age? […]
Working Millennials: Rent or Buy Real Estate?
When you’re a working Millennial, your weekends are extra valuable: Everybody’s working for the weekend. When I was the age of today’s Millennial I worked at Fidelity Investments and lived in Watertown, MA. Rent was a big chunk of my paycheck but that’s what it cost to be so close to Boston. I wasn’t saving […]
Simple is Sophisticated: My Grandchildren’s “Rich as Croesus” Strategy Part II
Scene from Greek history: The deaf-mute son of King Croesus prevents the Persians from killing his father, by Salvator Rosa, c.1663-64. Lucky you! You don’t have to wait for my next installment on Simple is Sophisticated. Going back ten years now, in May 2006, my father-in-law Dick Young wrote to his treasured readers about a […]
The Real POP in Investment Returns, Part II
You knew this was coming. Back in February 2010 I wrote to you about Putnam Investments’ full-page colored ad in the WSJ touting their new Absolute Return Funds. I viewed it as a money gathering scheme that would lag the market. Turns out I was right, as noted in this week’s follow-up in the WSJ. […]
Millennials Moving to the Burbs
The best investment I ever made in my early 20s was buying a multi-family in Marlborough, MA when I was working out there at Fidelity Investments. I like this trend for Millennials. I have always believed that owning your home is the best investment you can make when you’re young. Here the Globe’s Prashant Gopal […]
Good ‘Ole Vanguard GNMA
When times are tough, Vanguard GNMA (VFIIX) is a friend you’d never dream of living without. Check out the action for GNMA for just the first few weeks of this year compared to that of the more speculative NASDAQ Composite Index (both rebased to 100 at 12/31/2015). I don’t need any more than this to prove […]
AOK with Vanguard GNMA
You can take comfort in knowing you’re AOK with Vanguard GNMA. Pay no attention to the doomsayers calling for the bursting of the bond bubble. “Vanguard GNMA is one of my two largest holdings, and I would like to see it as one of your top two,” writes Dick Young in the September issue of […]
Fidelity’s Winning Edge
You can see Fidelity’s winning edge is alive and well through its CEO Abigail Johnson. She runs it like a family business—for the long-term. It’s private, not publicly traded. She doesn’t have to answer to the whiny Wall Street analysts every quarter. When I worked at Fidelity I remember how the Johnson family had their […]
