Here’s a little blast from the past. Remember the “DOW 36,000” guy? I guess sooner or later, they all come to their senses and realize that a well-balanced and thoroughly diversified portfolio with periodic rebalancing makes the most sense.
Read more about how we invest at Merriman.
Here’s what Mark Metcalf has to say about a recent article from the New York Times, “A Dying Banker’s Last Financial Instructions”, in which ex-Wall Street salesman Gordon Murray talks about a better way to invest:
Not only is this a powerful article about life, but it just happens to come with some top-notch investment advice. While “The Investment Answer” differs slightly around the edges from Merriman’s investment approach, it is very much in line with our philosophy, and I would recommend it highly to anybody in search of a prudent way to invest.
As a financial advisor and CPA, I often receive tax questions from my clients. One that has been coming up a lot in the past year is: “Should I convert my non-Roth retirement plan (401(k), traditional IRA, 403(b) or 457(b)) to a Roth IRA?” The question isn’t surprising, given the new rules that took effect January 1 for Roth IRA conversions.
The short answer, which should not surprise you, is: “It depends.”
The issue is complex, and the answer for one person can be radically different from the answer for someone else. Converting might be a boon, a mixed bag or a mistake, all depending on your circumstances.
It’s worse than that, because the only way to make sure you’re making the right choice is to know some variables of the future which simply cannot be known.
My bottom-line advice is to seek professional advice from your tax advisor, your financial advisor or your tax attorney before you take the plunge.
A word of caution
The difficulty with Roth conversions, like the difficulty for many tax strategies, is that the right answers cannot be known in advance. You usually cannot know your future income for sure. You cannot know what Congress will do to the tax code. And you cannot know future tax rates. In each case, the best you can do is guess. (more…)
Many investors seem to think the past 10 years were a waste. Early in 2008 the Wall Street Journal declared the years since 2000 “the lost decade.” That, of course, is one possible interpretation of the market’s behavior since it peaked in 2000, stumbled through a severe bear market for about three years, roared back to recovery and then fell into its current slump late in 2007.
A client referred to the previous 10 years and said to me: “We really didn’t make as much as we expected, did we?” It was more a statement than a question. And it made me curious to know the facts.
What I found didn’t surprise me a great deal. But I think it might surprise many people. (more…)
Editors Note:
Burt Mayer, a senior at Lakeside High School in Seattle, WA interned at Merriman this summer with the intention of creating educational material for young investors. This three part series featured on FundAdvice.com is perfect for those investors who are looking to get started but need to know the basics first.
If I’ve already convinced you to begin investing your money towards your future, give me a pat on the back.
But you’re not out of the woods yet. There’s a big difference between investing and investing intelligently. In this article I’ll try to figure out what it is, and then pass it along to you. (more…)
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