Finding Advice for More Modest Retirement Investments
The New York Times recently published an article about the various ways people are using the web for retirement planning. More and more companies are trying to find solutions to help people with less than $500k in assets manage money in a similar fashion to large pension funds. At Rockbridge, we have cost effectively been doing […]
What Grade Does Your Retirement Account Get?
Schools and parents have always taught students to strive for A’s and B’s. In fact, it would be hard to do well in school without using grades as goals or milestones. Unfortunately after school, grades fall off the radar. By translating retirement savings into something as simple as a letter grade, retirement preparation can be […]
The Fiscal Cliff: Why Selling Now Is Not Always The Best Strategy
The daily fiscal cliff news coverage is causing irrational investor behavior regarding unrealized long-term capital gains (LTCG). Without congressional action the LTCG rate is set to increase from 15% in 2012 to 20% in 2013. In addition, high earners are subject to a 3.8% Medicare surtax applied to all capital gains. (income greater than $250,000 […]
Controlling Costs – A Financial Recipe for Success
I have seen people drive miles out of their way for the cheapest gas, shop at multiple grocery stores for the best prices, and even wake up at uncanny hours to receive the best deals on holiday presents! As consumers we are always looking for a good deal, and price is one of the largest […]
401(k) Fee Disclosure Coming Soon . . .
If you have a 401(k) account, your next statement may not look much different, but it will contain some very interesting and powerful information. During the last several years, increased focus has been given to the expenses and fees charged to retirement plan participants. The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published regulations under the Employee […]
Is our retirement system broken?
Professor Teresa Ghilarducci has an opinion piece in the NY Times this week lambasting our evolving approach to retirement. She has some good points. Our Ridiculous Approach to Retirement By TERESA GHILARDUCCI Published: July 21, 2012
Investor Behavior: Market Timing Pitfalls
Dalbar, an independent communications and research firm, has done countless studies trying to quantify the impact of investor behavior on real-life returns. Their studies focus on the difference between investors’ actual returns in stock funds to the average return of the funds themselves. Basically, they are comparing the return the investor gets to the return […]
The Tradeoff: Preserving Capital or Preserving Purchasing Power
Many aspects of life require careful consideration and balancing of the tradeoffs that arise from competing demands. For example, a common lifestyle tradeoff is working longer hours versus spending more time with your family. The competing demands within this decision are the income necessary to provide a suitable quality of life for your family versus the immeasurable […]
2011 Review and 2012 Plans
Over the holidays, many of our clients and friends asked how business is going. I thought it would be a good time to provide an update on Rockbridge Investment Management and what we are looking forward to in the New Year. Financial Results As a firm, Rockbridge continues to grow steadily. Over the past two […]
Schwab Index Fund Changes
Many of our clients will be receiving a notice from Charles Schwab regarding a recent change in investment policy for two funds that we use in portfolios. The Schwab Small Cap Index Fund (SWSSX) and the Schwab International Index Fund (SWISX) are affected. Here is the communication from Schwab to advisors: We want to make […]