While alternative investments have the potential to both reduce a portfolio’s risk and boost its returns, the key word here, as today’s article emphasizes, is can: “If done poorly, alternative investments can just as easily take a wrecking ball to a portfolio and destroy years’ worth of gains.” Specifically, the author outlines the real-life example of the Dallas Police &…
With their low default risk, high dividend yields – with some paying yields above 6% – and ability to provide most Americans with tax-free income, the author of today’s article describes municipal bonds as having “the retirement income trifecta.” Recognizing that it can be difficult to buy quality individual municipal bonds, the author recommends seeking out the kinds of municipal…
Today’s article notes that – when it comes to the graying of America’s population – “one great way to capitalize on this trend is through healthcare, or, more specifically, the growing need for healthcare facilities – already a trillion-dollar market.” As such, the article provides an overview of the “big three” healthcare real estate investment trusts – Welltower, HCP and…
While inflation may currently be low, the author of today’s article warns that “this makes the possibility of an inflation threat going forward even more likely.” Moreover, she notes that health care costs are rising faster than inflation. All of this poses a particular threat to retirees relying on sources of income that lack inflation protection. As such, the author…
Today’s article notes that, in 2013, Social Security benefits made up 52% of household income for those aged 65 and over, and at least 90% of household income for almost a quarter of older retirees. These statistics make the findings of a new study by the Government Accountability Office all the more concerning: The GAO has determined that “Americans getting…
“To me, at these levels, it just screams value, even as you might have to wait a while for this investment to pay off.” This is Mad Money host Jim Cramer’s assessment of Bristol-Myers Squibb, shares of which plunged after “its flagship oncology drug, Opdivo, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a clinical trial”, resulting in analyst downgrades, estimate…
“Preferreds are one of the very few places where you can still get a reasonable income stream by historical standards,” states one manager of preferred funds in today’s article which examines the unique traits of preferred stocks that make them appealing (e.g. the aforementioned reasonable income stream), as well as the unique considerations that buyers of preferreds need to be…
When it comes to a rate hike by the Federal Reserve it is not question of “if” but “when” – with the “when” likely being December, if not this week. With a rate hike likely imminent either way, today’s article looks at what (if anything) this will mean for your personal finances – specifically your mortgage, your car loan, your…
“It’s a commodity that’s been on the slippery slide for the past four years and it’s making a remarkable recovery.” This is what one analyst cited in today’s article had to say about the resurrection of coal – a resurrection that the article’s author believes “may have further room to run.” To read about the factors that have contributed to…
Risk and retirement don’t go together. As such, given the difficult times (to put it mildly) that the energy sector has experienced over the last couple of years, energy stocks might not seem like goods bets for a retirement portfolio. However, the author of today’s article argues that “those planning (or even in) retirement might be doing themselves a disservice…