The beauty of a 529 education-savings plan is that contributions grow tax-free and withdrawals are not taxed if used for qualified educational purposes. But investors who buy these plans from investment advisers and brokers rather than directly from the plan’s manager or a state’s designated vendor are at a disadvantage. Buying through middlemen could leave [...]
Smart investment planning calls for you to diversify holdings among different asset classes. This asset allocation will depend on your specific situation. But when the allocations rise above or fall below your targets by a set percentage—say, 20%—you need to rebalance to retain your original risk profile.
How to rebalance:
Ideally, you want to invest new cash [...]
Even sophisticated investors make costly investment mistakes. According to financial pros, here are three of the big ones:
MISTAKE: Paying high fees.
Ask your broker or money manager for a complete breakdown of all charges you’re paying—hidden and disclosed. Find ways to reduce these costs. Every dollar removed from your portfolio is a dollar that could have [...]
One of the most important times in life to bring order to your investment portfolio is when you’re nearing retirement. Three essential tips:
Size up spending.
Years before you retire, determine what you want your portfolio too once you stop working full-time. Work up a retirement budget and add up your sources of income such as Social [...]
