New York Times Special Section

The October 15, 2009  issue of the New York Times featured a special  section (F) of eight articles on retirement issues.

Can you make the transition to living on reduced retirement savings?   In The Magic Word is ‘Focus’ , a 4 step holistic approach is recommended:  1)  ENVISION  – before making the transition, people should envision their lives in retirement.  2) TRACK SPENDING -  improve flexibility through meticulous record-keeping of all incoming and outgoing monies. 3)  CUTTING BACK -  evaluate whether your resources can accommodate your retirement goals.  4) DIVIDE YOUR MONEY – separate your savings  into ”buckets” that are designated for different tasks.

In Target-Date Funds, Hidden Homework  challenges the assumptions and benefits underlying target-date funds in light of the 2008 market collapse.    Ways to Ease the Pressure of a Cash Crunch  takes on liquidity issues during retirement.

Retirement savings accounts are the topic in  Deciding whether a Roth is right and Rethinking the 401 (k) if there is no company match. 

Use the links above to access the online version of the above articles, or visit the library and ask for assistance in locating the print issue.

ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) Resources

Thinking about investing in Exchange-Traded Funds, but don’t know where to start?

The Personal Finance page of  The Wall Street Journal website recently published an article on ETFs that contains  a helpful list of  web resources for the individual  investor.   WSJ calls  it  “a guide to sites that can help fund shoppers research portfolios and find those that fit their needs”.   Yahoo Finance and Morningstar are among the sites recommended as well as some lesser known online resources.

Have a look at the resources and tell us what you think!

Learn more about Morningstar

Morningstar Investment Research Center, available free at the Newton Free Library, provides independent opinion and data on more than 30,000 stocks and mutual funds.

To learn more about the database, attend a free online training session:

WHEN:  Wednesday, April 29th, at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time).

WHERE:  Anywhere with phone and internet access.

HOW:  To register, send an e-mail to librarytraining@morningstar.com, and mention the Newton Free Library.

Morningstar Investment Research Center*
(In Library Only–also via wireless in the Library)

How to Manage Your Financial Risk

In a time of economic instability, it’s important to minimize risk to maintain financial safety, by analyzing expenses, seeking diversification, and scrutinizing spending.

How to Manage Your Financial Risk is the title of a new publication from Morningstar.  Take a look at it!

“Green” and Socially Responsible Investing

What exactly is meant by “green” or “socially responsible” investing?  Can you invest based on your social beliefs and still make money?  For a concise discussion and some of the pros and cons, see Morningstar’s newest booklet, The Morningstar Guide to “Green” and Socially Responsible Investing.

Books for mutual fund information

In her presentation on mutual funds at our January meeting, Carole mentioned several books on mutual funds and related topics.  Here’s the full list!

More on Mutual Funds

If you’re looking for more information on mutual funds, we looked at two recent articles at the last meeting. both from the Wall Street Journal:

The first, by John Bogle, founder and former chief executive of the Vanguard Group of mutual funds, covers Six Lessons for Investors that we should learn from the past.

The second is a quiz about mutual funds, How Well Do You Know…the Fund Business?  After listening to Carole’s presentation, we all did very well.  See how well you do!

January Meeting Report: Mutual Funds

We were lucky to hear Carole, one of our own members, give a lively and informative presentation last week on mutual funds and how they are organized.  A Ph.D. chemist by training, Carole has been managing her mother’s finances in addition to her own 401(k).  Looking for the best way to implement a conservative low-cost strategy for investment that takes into account taxes and estate planning, she has studied and learned a lot about mutual funds, and she shared this knowledge with the rest of us.

The complete PowerPoint for Carole’s presentation is available here, but among the the items she covered were a historical overview of mutual funds, the difference between closed-end, open-end, and exchange traded funds, and traditional vs. mutual ownership structure.  She also talked about the different costs and expenses involved in purchasing mutual funds and how these can be compared, and discussed the various types of financial advisors and their licensing.

Carole also mentioned that the Investment Company Institute, the national association of U.S. investment companies, has investor education materials about mutual funds on their website.

We all learned a lot, and appreciated Carole’s willingness to teach us!