When interest rates rise, or are expected to, stockbrokers urge conservative investors to buy individual bonds. They appear to be safer than bond mutual funds. Just this week, I caught the following headline in an investment publication: “Individual bonds can help protect income.”
That’s 100 percent wrong. Individual bonds deprive you of extra income when interest [...]
It’s too soon to put on the party hats. The investor protection community cheered this week, when the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission recommended that stockbrokers take more legal responsibility for the financial advice they give. But we’re a long way from moving that proposal into an actual rule of conduct. Of [...]
How much does it cost to get justice, when a bank forecloses on your house illegally? Thousands of ex-homeowners don’t pursue their rights to a financial settlement because they assume they couldn’t pay the legal fees.
In fact, it costs less than you fear. Consumer lawyers take a few cases at no charge. More likely, you’ll [...]
Is your bank jacking up its fees on your checking account? You have one great response available. Move your money. Now. Find an institution that competes for your business on price as well as service – probably an online bank, community bank, or credit union. Even pre-paid debit cards can be a smarter choice than [...]
The popular target-date mutual funds shocked investors after the 2008 market crash. People close to retirement saw a quarter or more of their savings wash away, in funds they mistakenly thought were “safe.”
I consider these funds terrific choices for retirement savings and, by all accounts, so do you. They’re still the most popular funds in [...]
