Like retirees who make the mistake of reaching for yield, pension fund managers have been shifting into hedge funds and private equity — and losing.
Markets
Millionaire households in the U.S. are rising again, largely because the mass affluent stayed the course with their stocks during the downturn and are reaping the benefits of the market’s recovery. But frugality also played a big role.
A well-known academic argues against stocks, even for the long run. But it feels a bit like arguing that Warren Buffett doesn’t know what he’s doing. Whose side would you take?
Just a decade ago pension plans were flush. Today there is a $400 billion shortfall and companies want to do what? That’s right — cut their pension contributions.
Retirement portfolios held up surprisingly well through the Great Recession. But housing declines made for the worst period in several generations for pre-retirees, a study finds.
While experts continue to warn that housing has not yet hit bottom, a slew of indicators suggest otherwise. The latest is a stellar quarterly earnings report from Home Depot, which is benefitting from hopeful owners sprucing up for the spring selling season.
The search for retirement income in today’s low-yield environment inevitably comes back to dividend paying stocks. How could it not? Money market funds and short-term bank CDs pay about .5%; the 10-year Treasury bond pays only about 2%.
Securing decent retirement income in a low-yield environment is going to be a problem for a long time. Seniors who have been eking by through temporary measures need to find a permanent solution.
If your 401(k) was down in 2011, don’t hang your head. You have plenty of company. Many of Wall Street’s most successful investors were losers in 2011 as well.
First, it was coffee prices spiking last spring. Then, over the summer, the cost of bacon surged. Now, the price of another breakfast staple—orange juice—could suddenly be heading northward.
Day to day, the stock market may feel like a roller-coaster, but in fact the U.S. is experiencing stagnation with a very, very faint upward trend.
