Investment

Investing should be easy – just buy low and sell high – but most of us have trouble following that simple advice. There are principles and strategies that may enable you to put together an investment portfolio that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. Understanding these principles and strategies can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that snare some investors.

Featured Video

Jane Bond: Decoding Diversification

Agent Jane Bond is on the case, discovering how bonds diversify a portfolio.

Featured Presentation

5 Smart Investing Principles

Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

Emerging Market Opportunities

What are your options for investing in emerging markets?

A Taxing Story: Capital Gains and Losses

Understanding how capital gains are taxed may help you refine your investment strategies.

Bursting the Bubble

Tulips were the first, but they won’t be the last. What forms a “bubble” and what causes them to burst?

• Articles

  Don’t Be Your Own Worst Enemy

  Emotional biases can adversely impact financial decision making. Here’s a few to be mindful of.

  A Look at Diversification

  Diversification is an investment principle designed to manage risk, but it can't prevent against a loss.

  Alternative Investments - Going Mainstream

  Alternative investments are going mainstream for accredited investors. It’s critical to sort through the complexity.

  Best-Performing Asset Classes

  Bonds may outperform stocks one year only to have stocks rebound the next.

  All Muni Bonds Are Not Created Equal

  Gaining a better understanding of municipal bonds makes more sense than ever.

  Required Reading: The Economic Report of the President

  The Economic Report of the President can help identify the forces driving — or dragging — the economy.

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• Calculators

  Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred Savings

  Use this calculator to compare the future value of investments with different tax consequences.

  Impact of Taxes and Inflation

  Estimate the potential impact taxes and inflation can have on the purchasing power of an investment.

  How Compound Interest Works

  Use this calculator to better see the potential impact of compound interest on an asset.

  What Is the Dividend Yield?

  This calculator helps determine your pre-tax and after-tax dividend yield on a particular stock.

  Contributing to an IRA?

  Determine if you are eligible to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA.

  Saving for College

  This calculator can help you estimate how much you should be saving for college.

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• Presentations

  5 Smart Investing Strategies

  There are some smart strategies that may help you pursue your investment objectives

  5 Smart Investing Principles

  Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

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• Videos

  The Junk Drawer Approach to Investing

  It's easy to let investments accumulate like old receipts in a junk drawer.

  What Smart Investors Know

  Smart investors take the time to separate emotion from fact.

  Jane Bond: Decoding Diversification

  Agent Jane Bond is on the case, discovering how bonds diversify a portfolio.

  The Real Cost of a Vacation Home

  What if instead of buying that vacation home, you invested the money?

  Events on Wall Street

  Can successful investors predict changes in the markets? Some can but others miss the market’s signals.

  The Business Cycle

  How will you weather the ups and downs of the business cycle?

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