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

Should You Invest in Exchange Traded Funds?

There are hundreds of ETFs available. Should you invest in them?

Featured Presentation

5 Smart Investing Principles

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

Are Alternative Investments Right for You?

With alternative investments, it’s critical to sort through the complexity.

Value vs. Growth Investing

Among stock-market investors there’s long been a debate between those who favor value and those who favor growth.

Events on Wall Street

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

• Articles

  Alternative Investments - Going Mainstream

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

  A Primer on Dividends

  A company's profits can be reinvested or paid out to the company’s shareholders as “dividends."

  Don’t Be Your Own Worst Enemy

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

  The Ivory Tower Changes Wall Street

  Thanks to the work of three economists, we have a better understanding of what determines an asset’s price.

  Inflation & Your Money

  It's important to understand how inflation is reported and how it can affect investments.

  A Look at Diversification

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

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• Calculators

  What Is My Risk Tolerance?

  This questionnaire will help determine your tolerance for investment risk.

  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.

  Contributing to an IRA?

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

  How Compound Interest Works

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

  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 Principles

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

  5 Smart Investing Strategies

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

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• Videos

  Jane Bond: Decoding Diversification

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

  The Fed and How It Got That Way

  Here is a quick history of the Federal Reserve and an overview of what it does.

  The Junk Drawer Approach to Investing

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

  The Real Cost of a Vacation Home

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

  What Can a Million Dollars Buy You?

  $1 million in a diversified portfolio could help finance part of your retirement.

  It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

  All about how missing the best market days (or the worst!) might affect your portfolio.

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