Featured Articles
Introduction
I’m Bob French, the investments guy at Retirement Researcher. I’m also the Director of Investment Analysis at McLean Asset Management. My goal here is to help you use your investments to meet your retirement goals.
Prior to joining Retirement Researcher and McLean Asset Management, I was in charge of designing the analytical engine for instream – a financial planning tool that financial advisors use with their clients. I became a CFA Charterholder in 2010.
Before instream, I was at Dimensional Fund Advisors, and I was in charge of a data analysis tool that they provided to their financial advisor clients. Aside from helping people with the mechanics of the tool, most of my time was spent helping them understand how to interpret and explain the results to their clients. And it’s this piece – just writ a little larger – that I’m excited to have the opportunity to do here at Retirement Researcher. All of the information that you need to invest well is out there (somewhere), but I want to help give you the context and understanding to use that information to reach the retirement that you deserve.
You Can’t Time the Markets
The appeal of market timing is obvious. Who wouldn’t want to get in and out of the market at the best time every time? We’ve talked a lot about market timing in the past – timing risk premiums, trying to time the markets on a daily basis, and the importance of staying disciplined even when it seems obvious the markets are going to go down.
How Can You Protect Your Retirement Portfolio During the Election?
The presidential elections usually offer some very stark choices, so often people are concerned about how the election results will effect the economy. Let’s take a deep breath and try to take an objective look at how the election could affect your portfolio.
Finding the Right Balance Between Inflation Risk and Investment Risk
When we talk about retirement risks, people often tend to fixate on their investments. Yes, investment risk is important, but it’s only a piece of the puzzle. The primary risk to your retirement is not having enough money to do what you…
Are Structured CDs Too Good To Be True?
Most people know what Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are. You buy one for a number of years, then at the end, the bank gives you your money back plus a little interest. They’re not huge moneymakers, but they’re about as reliable as…
US Markets Are Outperforming Global Markets, What Should You Do?
To say international stocks haven’t been doing great relative to US stocks is a massive understatement. What does that mean for your portfolio?
Most of the investment advice you get is (or should be) conditional. Advisors tend to steer clear of definitive, blanket statements, but this is one that I’m pretty comfortable making if you have stocks in your portfolio, you should probably own both domestic and international st
Can You Rely On Dividends For Income?
There’s real value in knowing where your money will come from. Hence the appeal of income investing – building a portfolio focused on creating a long-term steady stream of income…But income investing presents a few problems.
The Most Important Investment Decision You’ll Ever Make
When most people think about investing, they’re thinking about stuff that doesn’t really matter. They’re caught up in the minutiae: What fund should I own? How fast did the iPhone 7 sell out (and are people really going to be okay with no headphone jack)? What sector is going to take off this fall? But that’s not really what determines your portfolio’s fate. What really matters is your ratio between stocks and bonds.
Can You Time Risk Premiums?
No one really likes risk. We all can deal with it, but that doesn’t mean we want to. Yes, there are people who live to jump out of airplanes and walk on tight ropes with no net, but I’m talking about financial…
Should You Keep International Stocks in Your Portfolio?
There will always be some asset class that does poorly. Over the last few years, one of those asset classes has been international stocks. They have underperformed US stocks each of the previous three years, and it’s looking like they’ll do it…
Should You Add Real Estate to Your Portfolio?
We talk a lot about stocks and bonds, but we spend less time on hard assets like commodities or real estate. Investing in real estate is very similar to investing in stocks, so it requires many of the same principles as any other asset class, just with a little twist.
Should Your Portfolio Include Commodities?
When it comes to investing, a whole bunch of magical investment solutions seem to be floating around out there, but should you really do anything differently?
What Can We Learn from the Market Disasters of the 1970s?
Throughout history, when bad news and events touched the daily lives of investors and caused nest eggs to shrink, it’s been natural to ask, “Is this the end of investing as we know it? Have new developments changed things so much that…