General Investing

Few terms in personal finance are as important, or used as frequently, as “risk.” Nevertheless, few terms are as imprecisely defined. Generally, when financial advisors or the media talk about investment risk, their focus is on the historical price volatility of the asset or investment under discussion. Advisors label as aggressive or risky an investment […]

If you haven’t started investing towards a long-term goal because you’re worried about short-term market volatility, consider using a popular investment strategy called dollar cost averaging. Dollar cost averaging takes some of the guesswork out of investing in the stock market. Instead of waiting to invest a single lump sum until you feel prices are

Introduction Investment planning during retirement is not the same as investing for retirement and, in many ways, is more complicated. Your working years are your saving years. With luck, your income increases from year to year as you receive promotions and/or pay raises; those increases offer some protection against rising costs caused by inflation. While

What is a mutual fund? A mutual fund is an investment company that pools money from many people and invests it in stocks, bonds, or other securities. Each investor owns shares; each share represents a tiny portion of each individual security held by the fund. An investment professional handles the purchase and sale of individual

Setting financial and investment goals Setting goals is a very important part of life in general and in financial planning in particular. Before you actually invest your money, you should spend some time considering and setting your personal financial goals. For example, do you want to retire early? Would you like to start your own

What is investment planning? The investment planning process If you’re fortunate enough to have money left over after paying the costs of living, you may be able to make that extra money go to work for you by investing it to earn a financial return. Investment planning involves deciding how best to put your money–your