What is your investment ‘Plan B’?

A client recently asked a great question, “What is our ‘Plan B”? I think part of the question stemmed from the idea that if we aren’t reacting to the market and its changes, we are doing something wrong. Adjusting our investments or calling an audible in the middle of the process makes investors feel good. Just like nearly every other decision, the change is driven by emotions yet investors fail to realize it. After the change, they normally come out feeling the portfolio is much ‘safer’ now, or they can make a whole bunch more money. (Fear & Greed) Rarely will an investor go back and evaluate previous decisions to decide whether or not it was advantageous in the end.

Common, but Misleading Retirement Advice

Saving for retirement is one of the most daunting tasks the average person will face during his or her lifetime; because of this it comes as no surprise that everybody seems to have a different strategy for dealing with the problem. While there is no one correct solution for retirement planning, many widely accepted theories have been created that may not be entirely true. It is important to thoroughly analyze all the pieces to your retirement plan and make sure that your plan is build on a strong foundation. Here are a few widely acknowledged, yet often misleading pieces of retirement advice.

Questions Everyone Should Ask Before Retirement

With all the turmoil in the markets over the past several years many investors have been left questioning themselves whether they will have enough to retire the way they’ve always dreamed, or retire at all, for that matter. Whether your retirement years are right around the corner or many years off in the distance, there’s never a wrong time to evaluate your definition of retirement and what it means to you both ideologically and financially.

Think Income While Saving for Retirement

Have you ever asked yourself “Am I saving enough for retirement?”, if so you are not alone. There are many calculators and software programs readily available online to help project what your portfolio may be worth at retirement. The problem I see with many of these tools is that they put far too much emphasis on the total dollar amount accumulated at retirement. Instead of worrying about a total amount to save for retirement, investors should start focusing on how much monthly income their portfolio will be capable of generating in retirement.

Creating Cash Flow in Retirement

At the close of the third quarter, the S&P 500 was down just over 10% for 2011. Retirees living off their portfolios may face tough decisions over the next few months when it comes time to make their next withdrawal. The standard 4% withdrawal rule faces added scrutiny each and every time the market declines. When portfolio income becomes a priority, it is time to abandon your customary mutual fund portfolio and find an investment strategy aligned with your objectives.

Step #5 – Retirement Preparedness Checklist: Create Enough Cash Flow to Cover Retirement Expenses

Think about this. Most companies don’t go bankrupt because they are not profitable. They don’t go bankrupt because the value of their assets has declined. They go bankrupt because they do not have sufficient cash flow to pay their creditors and employees. A company can lose money, on paper, but stay in business indefinitely so long as it has sufficient …

The Retirement Preparedness Checklist

Heavyweight champion and prolific pitchman, George Foreman, said, “The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.” Before you turn in the keys to your office for good, you need to make sure you are prepared financially for life without a paycheck. Use this handy Retirement Preparedness Checklist and correlating worksheets to make sure you …

How to manage stock market volatility in retirement

In retirement, one of the scariest things, particularly when you are dependent on your investment portfolio for a large portion of your retirement income, is how to deal with the ups and downs of the stock market and the economy. You may believe that, in order to do that, you have to be able to get into the market as …

Tools for surviving the investment income famine

UPDATED 2019: This article, originally published in 2010, continues to be one of our most popular posts. Please keep in mind that it is possible some of the facts offered have changed throughout the years.However, our sentiments have not. Scott Burns and I agree on many things. We agree that you cannot beat the market by picking stocks. We agree …

Myths and Misconceptions about Exchange Traded Options

There are a variety of long-standing myths about options that need to be dispelled. The most widely held are: 1) options are too risky; 2) they’re too complicated or you’re not smart enough to use them; 3) you cannot use options inside of an IRA account; and 4) options on General Electric, for example, are no different than the exotic, …