Good Financial Reads: Entry-Level Investing

If you've managed to save up $10,000, it's important you learn how to invest it. Putting money in a savings account for a rainy day or emergency is one thing, but $10k is a lot of money that if you know how to invest it, could turn into a lot more money.

Knowing how to invest $10K is important so you not only get the best return but can also save for your most important goals.

If you invested in the market over the last 10 years… it was easy to win. The markets climbed up and up, with the longest bull market in history running from 2009 to 2020.

Even a global pandemic wasn’t enough to keep the markets down in the spring of 2020. Stocks cratered and lost 30% of value in March — but had you not paid attention in the spring and only looked at market performance around August of that year, you might not know anything happened at all as the big indices hit record highs once more by late summer.

Here are two of the most common questions I have received recently: Are all the traditional investments like bonds, stocks, and real estate posed for a fall in value or at least very low returns? And what should investors do with their portfolios? 

Good questions, and it does seem like everything is overpriced these days. Interest rates near zero mean that bond values are high and have little room to grow, and can potentially fall if interest rates increase. US stock prices are high relative to earnings and other measures of profitability, based on historical experience. Home and real estate prices are also high given the low mortgage rates that have made it easy to buy homes. So, what should investors do?

Financial assets aren't the same as tangible assets or real assets. They exist in a class all by themselves and play an important role in your net worth. Understanding what they are and how they work is an important part of your financial plan.

[Read the Full Article] 

How Investment Diversification Can Benefit You

by Robert Stroll, Financial Design Studio, Inc

[Read the Full Article] 

If you've saved or come into $100,000, you're well ahead of most immigrants in the United States. Almost three-quarters of Americans don't have $1,000 saved, which means they can't get through a basic emergency without borrowing money.

Your $100K puts you in an advantageous position, but you’re probably wondering what the best way to handle your $100K is. It's a large amount of money, but what are the right ways to invest?

[Read the Full Article]