A parents’ guide to paying for college

From: REAP, LLC. | Retirement & Estate Advisors & Professionals

Since the 1990s, the costs of both private and public college tuition have easily outpaced inflation. This means helping to pay for your children’s higher education may no longer be as straightforward as opening a 529 account, snagging as many scholarships as possible and filling out FAFSA forms.

Take another look at loans.
Student loans have…

Do you need to rebalance your portfolio?

From: REAP, LLC. | Retirement & Estate Advisors & Professionals

Crafting the right investment mix is both an art and a science. Not only do you have to consider your future goals, but you also have to take situational factors into account, like your risk tolerance and the current market conditions. To make sure your portfolio keeps its custom fit, it may help to rebalance on…

Hello, volatility, welcome back to the market

From: www.seattletimes.com

Lost amid the easy move up of 2017 and the hot start to record highs in January was that the market had gotten, well, boring.

When the Dow Jones industrial average finished its 1,175-point drop on Monday, Peter in Seattle checked the balance in his 401(k) plan.

He had lost roughly $12,000 on the day. He was scared.

Jack in Braintree, Massachusetts — a 20-something who…

Deflation is when the price of a basket of goods declines. It’s the opposite of inflation. A common tool used to track deflation is the CPI or Consumer Price Index.

Planning for Retirement Plans and IRAs: Asset Protection

From: www.aaepa.com

As I discussed in last week’s blog, retirement assets, including 401(k)s, IRAs, etc., comprise a large portion of the average American’s wealth. Planning for these assets is critical, not just due to their value, but also due to their special nature.

Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s and the earnings on them are tax-deferred. Roth IRAs and 401(k)s are tax-free. However, there’s another characteristic of…

Liquid Enough: Exploring ETF Liquidity Across Asset Classes

From: Cantor ETF Group

In recent years, ETFs have offered a welcome source of liquidity for bond investors, especially in sectors like high yield where trading in ETFs far outstrips the volume in the underlying securities. Yet recently, some investors have started to question whether that liquidity advantage is sustainable, or in the words of a writer at Investment News, a “mirage” (see The ETF Liquidity…