Category: Free Market Strategy

  • What are the Hidden Fees associated with Annuities?

    It’s not that there’s anything wrong with an investor paying fees for certain investments in their portfolio, but when it comes to annuities the key is ‘transparency,’ notes the WSJ’s article on getting to the bottom of hidden annuity fees. What are some of the fees carried by a popular annuity choice among investors, namely…

  • Millennials and Their Money: 3 Tips for Overcoming Investing Fears

    When it comes to Millennials and their money, most Americans ages 18 to 29 would rather sit on a boat load of cash. They have a sinking feeling that investing in the stock market is like boarding the Titanic. According to a recent Bankrate.com study cited by a recent The Street article, younger people prefer…

  • Hidden Costs in Investing

    There are many different ways in which costs are charged to your investment portfolio.   Many of these are hidden and are basically untraceable.  Today we are going to discuss a few of the hidden costs, and a few of the transparent costs. Costs you should know about Management Fee/Commission Whoever your investment advisor is is…

  • What is Dollar Cost Averaging?

    Today we are going to discuss dollar cost averaging (DCA) and how it is most likely helping your retirement portfolio. “Dollar Cost Averaging-  The technique of buying a fixed dollar amount of a particular investment on a regular schedule, regardless of the share price. More shares are purchased when prices are low, and fewer shares…

  • Is it Safe?

    Perhaps one of the biggest challenges that investors face is determining if “right now” is a SAFE time to invest (meaning not just the present, but any time). What makes it difficult for investors is a twofold issue: first, is a lack of historical knowledge and perspective, and second, their own emotions. Actually, if one…

  • Second Quarter Market Returns

    There have actually been complaints in the media and news about how “boring” the stock market has been so far this year.  Boring is bad in sports, but in the stock market it is usually a good thing.  There has been slow but steady growth in every single sector and sub sector of the market…

  • What is a Hedge Fund?

    Are you missing out on the supposedly huge amount of profits to be made by investing with a “Guru” in his Hedge Fund? Hedge funds are like mutual funds, but they are managed by self titled experts who charge an enormous fee to try and beat the market.  Hedge funds and Investing Guru’s are built…

  • Market Timing: The Myth

    So what is market timing and are you losing returns because your money manager is doing it?  Or even worse, have you been caught doing it all on your own. According to Investopedia, market timing is “The act of attempting to predict the future direction of the market, typically through the use of technical indicators…

  • Bright Future for Small Businesses

    According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses represent more than 99 percent of all U.S. employers and have created 65 percent of new jobs in the past 17 years. It’s obvious how incredible their impact is on America’s economy. And it’s only getting bigger. Confidence in U.S. small businesses has climbed to its…

  • First Quarter Market Returns

    It is often hard to know what the market returns when all we see on TV or the internet is the minute to minute ticker.  As investors we need a broader view of how the market has done so we can know if we are getting market returns with our investments.  Matson Money does a…