Advance Capital Management’s president and chief investment officer, Christopher Kostiz, provides his key economic and market insights from the most recent quarter.
Benjamin Franklin famously said: “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Another way to put it would be to say, An indifference to ignorance charges the most interest.
Take yourself back to March 6, 2009. Do you remember what you did that day? It was a Friday. Perhaps you followed a typical 9-to-5 routine: dropping the kids off at school, work, dinner at home, in bed by nine. Or, maybe on that particular night you went out for drinks to take some of the edge off. You’ve been watching the news and checking your 401(k). Things aren’t looking good. Just in the previous month, 650,000 jobs were eliminated. The S&P 500 lost more than 50% since its market high in October 2007.
In order to reach your financial goals, you don’t have to be an investing sesquipedalian. The term sesquipedalian can describe someone or something that excessively uses big words. A philosophy professor, for example. Or, much to our dismay, the financial news.
Not all financial goals are alike, so the way you save for each one should be different, too. Think about it. You don’t save for a vacation in an IRA and you don’t save for retirement in a low-interest savings account.
Advance Capital Management’s president and chief investment officer, Christopher Kostiz, provides his key economic and market insights from the most recent quarter and for the new year.
On January 3, 1993, the Buffalo Bills miraculously pulled off a 41-38 overtime upset over the Houston Oilers in an AFC playoff game that remains the largest come-from-behind victory in NFL history. To this day, it is commonly referred to as “The Comeback.” Such an unbelievable, overcoming-the-odds story can provide some much-needed inspiration to those nearing retirement age with little to no savings.
Behavioral finance, or economics, studies the effects of psychology in the economic decision-making processes of individuals. Based on research in this field, it turns out people aren’t as rational as they think. Certain mental biases cause people to make financial decisions that might not be in their best interests. That includes everything from how people shop to how they save – or don’t – for retirement.
Whether sitting in a speeding car or investing in a tumbling stock market, you can get the same uneasy feeling in your stomach.
Annuities are one of the most heavily marketed financial products to retirement-age people. They are often sold as the solution to a retiree’s greatest fear: outliving your money in retirement. But, with the potential for guaranteed income from an annuity, do you have to sacrifice the potential for growing your money?
