Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a well-known scholar of mathematical finance. Taleb teaches risk engineering at New York University. He is also the author of a major best-selling book: The Black Swan. In the world of personal finance, a “black swan event” is a massive change in investment conditions which is either predictable or unpredictable. Either [...] Read more »
Ten Year TIPS Auction Upcoming
MondayAug 23,2010
It’s unfortunate that the frequency of TIPS Treasury auctions seems to be decreasing. Thus, I was excited to learn that an auction of TIPS with a ten year maturity has been tentatively scheduled for September 2, 2010. The official announcement date will be August 30. If you are still building your Failsafe Retirement Income Plan, [...] Read more »
Rethinking the Risk of Stocks
TuesdayJun 8,2010
The mainstream investing media may finally be getting it. A recent “Ask the Expert” article from Money Magazine tells us that we should “rethink” the risks of investing in stocks. Well, duh! What is significant about this particular article is that it cites actual research to support the author’s premise: After a 75% surge from [...] Read more »
Reasons to Use Bonds for Retirement
WednesdayNov 18,2009
Forbes recently published a focused piece summarizing the top reasons to use bonds for investing. Here are those reasons, in no particular order, and my comments as they relate to using TIPS and I-Bonds for retirement income security: 1. Preservation of Principal. This is definitely number one on the list for retirement planning. Moreover, you [...] Read more »
New I-Bond Rates
ThursdayNov 5,2009
As many of you know, the Treasury updates interest rates for I-Bonds each May 1 and November 1. These updates include both the fixed rate component that will remain for the life of the bond and the inflation adjusted component that will remain in effect for the next six months. On November 1, 2009 the [...] Read more »
TIPS Buy Peace of Mind
ThursdayOct 29,2009
The Wall Street Journal ran a story this week titled “TIPS Buy Peace of Mind, But at a Steep Price.” I understand and agree with the “peace of mind” concept but not so much the “steep price.” This is how the article starts: Inflation-protected US government bonds are generally a great core holding for ordinary [...] Read more »
Variable Annuities Devalued
SaturdayOct 24,2009
It seems that insurance companies are unhappy about their profit margins and risks in sales of variable annuities. To compensate, they are offering new “simplified” products. Unfortunately, these new annuity products have two characteristics that make them even less attractive to purchasers. Rates have increased and benefits have been watered down. According to this article [...] Read more »
Turning Savings into Retirement Income
WednesdayOct 21,2009
A Money Magazine reader recently submitted this question to Walter Updegrave, a senior editor and well known personal finance writer: The 4% rule seems to have become the conventional wisdom for drawing money from your savings in retirement. But I believe the rule is flawed. I think it might make more sense to choose a [...] Read more »
TIPS Auction and I-Bond Reset
SaturdayOct 17,2009
The Treasury has scheduled an auction of five-year TIPS on October 26, 2009. (To be more precise, with an issue date of 10/30, these TIPS will have an actual duration of four years and six months.) The official announcement date will be October 22. The last 5-year TIPS auction was on April 23, 2009. Those [...] Read more »
The Truth About Stocks Aftermath
WednesdayOct 14,2009
I received my November issue of Money Magazine today. I was curious about any reader reaction to last month’s interview with Zvi Bodie which the magazine titled “You Can’t Handle the Truth About Stocks.” The editors printed two reader letters responding to the interview. One had this to say: I wish more people had the [...] Read more »