One of the most widely debated investment approaches among financial planners involves active versus passive management, especially when investing in stocks.  Indeed, this debate has taken on many of the attributes of a holy war.  Those supporting passive investing argue that the odds of any individual investor putting together a portfolio that can consistently beat…
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If you’re like many investors, you like the diversification and perhaps the active management that many mutual funds offer. And there are lots of resources available for you to identify, compare, and choose funds in which to invest. Let’s say you’ve decided to put some of your money into the Pimco Total Return Bond fund.…
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FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, recently warned investors that in the event of rising interest rates, “outstanding bonds, particularly those with a low interest rate and high duration may experience significant price drops.” Why are bonds facing this risk today and what should investors do as a result? As I wrote last year, we…
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The San Jose Mercury News reported this week that a federal judge sentenced the manager of the Sunnyvale-based Asenqua Beta Fund and the Fireside LS Fund to 12 years in prison for defrauding local investors out of at least $6.5 million. Albert Ke-Jung Hu was found guilty in June of luring wealthy investors to his…
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Late in 2008, right after the market crash, I was providing financial advice to a woman as part of a free financial clinic put on by the Financial Planning Association.  We were discussing ways to preserve and grow her investments when she mentioned the approach taken by her 85 year-old aunt.  The aunt simply buried…
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The percentage of 401(k) plans that offer target-date funds increased from 57% in 2006 to about 75% last year, with 39% of participants actively invested in the funds, according to a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute. A target-date fund is a fund of funds that assumes you will…
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