Protect My Retirement Funds

Stock Market Resources

2010-06-18T10:31:00.001-07:00

There are many places to get information about the stock market. Major news sites. The individual company websites. Finance blogs. I rely on a mix of sources for my personal investing. But what I really want to know is, what are your favorite resources for news about the stock market?

I'll compile a list and share it all in one place once I get some answers.

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

We are not financial advisers and do not provide financial advice. All information provided by Protect-My-Retirement-Funds.com is of a general nature only and should not be considered as financial advice or a recommendation. Always consult your professional financial provider before making any investment decisions.

Today in the Stock Market

2010-06-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

Today the stock market is set to get off to a good start as investors anticipate positive numbers from the labor market and inflation statistics.

The Consumer Price Index is expected to be up 0.1%, once you exclude food and energy costs. If you add those core sectors back in, the CPI is expected to be down 0.1%.

Jobless claims fell by 2,000, which I don't think is a pretty percentage, but it does represent a decline that probably has nothing to do with the 2010 US Census.

Another piece of good news that you've seen me talk about before is that BP has decided to cancel their dividend. This was truly the only logical and ethical thing to do and I am glad to see it happening. My only wish is that they had stepped up to do this sooner instead of leaving everyone in limbo for so long. It would have been a real chance to improve their public image.

What stock news are you watching and waiting for today?

Does the Stock Market Scare you?

2010-06-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

If so, I understand. Having lost a substantial amount of my own retirement to a dip in the market, I know first hand the feeling that comes from opening my quarterly 401k statement only to see a number much lower than I expected. My gut sunk. It was a bad feeling.

So, now I have a strategy for how to approach the stocks in my 401k portfolio. Here is my first tip for becoming more comfortable investing in the stock market.

1 - Diversify. This is always the first piece of advice people give when talking about stocks. And that is because it is true. But it you are truly worried about the stock market, don't just pick stocks from different sectors. Invest some in bonds or other cash equivalents. Common wisdom suggests that the further you are from retirement the smaller your bond investment should be. Then, as you get closer to retirement, you should begin transitioning more of your money into cash equivalent investments to protect the assets when you need the the most. A target-date retirement fund can achieve this same goal.

Check back tomorrow for my second tip for becoming more comfortable investing in the stock market.

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

401k Plan Fees

2010-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

It always seems that the costs associated with managing a 401k are hard to figure out. Most large companies now send out reports that are clear about the 3-month performance of your funds, but they rarely tell you the actual dollar amount you are losing to plan fees. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimates that "an annual fee of 0.5% of assets can reduce your savings by 12.5% over 30 years." If you work for a smaller company, your fees might be even higher.

It is possible however to find out how much you are paying in plan fees. BrightScope.com has an extensive list of employer managed fund fees. For fun, I looked up one employer, the Allstate Corporation, and learned that employees investing in their 401k plan may lose more than $300,000 in savings over the course of their career. This can equate to up to 11 years of extra work to make up the money lost to fund fees.

Take a look and let me know what you found out about your employer.

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

What are annuity fees?

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Picking up the discussion on fees from last week, let's discuss annuity fees. What exactly are annuity fees?

Simply, they are the fees associated with periodic income for a specified length of time, for life, or a combination of the two. Like anything else in finance, there are fees associated with the purchase of an annuity. Depending on the annuity type you buy, you may pay contract fees, administration fees, withdrawal fees, or mortality fees(!).

Annuity fees are expensive (up to 10% in some cases) and may even be born by those who survive you. That is not much of a legacy to leave, is it? It might be hard to figure out what your annuity fees even are because they are often buried in hundreds of pages of prospectus.

Honestly, variable annuities do not make sense in most circumstances precisely because of these high fees. A better alternative for your retirement income is an immediate annuity. There are fewer fees which mean you have more to invest.

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

Brokerage Fees

2010-06-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

We all know that our brokerage firms are going to charge us fees. The most savvy of consumers tries to get a clear understanding of what those are before they sign over a single penny to a new brokerage firm. While Protect My Retirement Funds is not in the business of recommending stocks, funds, or brokerage firms, we thought it would be good to give you a heads up about one fee that is becoming more and more common - transfer fees.

More and more often, firms such as Wells Fargo and Schwab, are charging any where from $50 - $200 just to transfer your money to another firm. Benjamin Poor, of Cerulli Associates, a researcher in the financial services market likens it to "having a bad meal at a restaurant, then being charged to leave the building."

A potential way to avoid the fee is to ask for it to be waived before you even create an account. The new firm might be willing to do this to earn your business. Also, clients transferring six figures may have the leverage to ask the new firm if they will reimburse the client the fee charged by the old firm.

Are there any fees that have given you a financial headache? What do you do about them?
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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

Why It's Cool to be an Economist

2010-06-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

It used to be that eonomists were only seen in dry lectures at the local college or on the "boring" money-focused news shows. That has been changing though. Now, every day folks are finding economists, and what they have to say, more and more interesting.

It is amazing how much more invested people become in their retirement funds when they see negative trends in the stock market. It does make sense though. People are very protective of their money. That is part of why I started my company. I was protective of my money and wish I had thought to pay more attention to it while I still had most of it.

How often do you check your stock portfolio?
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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

Stock Market Resources

2010-06-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

Is the stock market a crystal ball???

2010-06-09T08:44:00.001-07:00

I just read a fascinating article on CNN Money which considers how the stock market functions in predicting to mirroring the future of our economy. I think this type of thinking is just what investors should be ingesting before making major changes to their investment choices.

As an owner of a 401k, you have the responsibility, nay obligation, to pay attention to the trends in the market. Of course, the wisdom of the ages still holds true, that the younger you are the riskier your investment choices can be. But putting that aside, you still need to be looking at this type of information.

Please click over to read this article and let me know what you think.
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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

Can Apple Fail?

2010-06-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

It seems every time Apple (AAPL) wants to introduce a new product, the entire world turns in. How does a company build that loyal of a following? It is amazing what they have been able to do, particularly since the impression is given that most Apple lovers pay full price for their beloved Apple products. They just do not ever seem to have "sales" or to slash prices. People either love or hate Apple.

Today there was another great example of how this works. Apple unveiled the new iPhone 4 and people tuned in online to watch the entire thing. There are many new features for Apple and I won't bore you with a long list of them on this blog. You can read Apple's own marketing materials for that.

So far today their stock price doesn't seem to be greatly impacted. The stock has been a little up and a little down all day. What do you think? Will you buy an iPhone 4?

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

2010-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

The payroll and employment reports being issued today might have a positive impact on the Dow and NASDAQ. It is estimated by the Labor Department that there were an additional 500,000 jobs created in May. That isn't terribly helpful to the 500,001st person who needed a job, but it is definitely an improvement. The only drawback to this number is that a high percentage of it represents Census Bureau workers, who are only temporarily employed. This increase in jobs means the slightest of dips in the unemployment rate, from 9.9% to 9.8 percent.

Why should any of this matter on a blog about retirement funds? Because we need people to have jobs so they can contribute to their own 401k. Otherwise, all of us with jobs will be funding the retirement of our unemployed neighbors. Also, by watching which industries are creating jobs, we might see which companies are growing, and there for might be a good bet on the stock market.

Which company are you watching grow? Are you investing in it?

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

2010-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday morning we talked about BP prices dropping only to find that BP closed up 3.12%. It is a slight increase, and may not mean anything, but it is something to keep a weekly eye on.

BP is making news in other financial areas as well now that some Senators are pushing BP to suspend all dividend payments until the costs associated with the oil leak are calculated. Knowing that the leak may not be fully stopped until August means it could be some time before dividend payments could resume.

Last year, the dividend was 56 cents per share. According to the 2009 BP Annual Report, this amounted to a total payout of $10.5 billion.

In their letter to the head of BP, Senators Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore, wrote, "We are concerned that such action to move money off of the company's books and into investors pockets will make it much more difficult to repay the U.S. government and American communities that are working around the clock to stem the damage caused by this devastating oil spill."

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

BP Stock Prices Sinking

2010-06-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

It should come as no surprise to even the most casual observer that the stock price of BP Oil (BP) is headed down. In just one day, BP's stock sank 15% in U.S. trading, down $6.40 to $36.55. Overall, BP stock is down 40% since the Deepwater Horizon rig sank on April 20th.

BP is not the only company whose stock has been negatively affected by the rig disaster. Transocean (RIG) has dropped 12% and Anadarko (APC) dropped 19%.

Oil is not the only major industry in the Gulf of Mexico. Tourism, fishing, and shipping also provide a significant portion of the economy for the states on the Gulf. It would be wise to consider how businesses in these industries will be affected as the months go on.

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.

How Protect My Retirement Was Conceived

2010-06-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

For years, those planning for their retirement had to rely on the statements they receive only four time a year. They were given four snap shots upon which to base their retirement strategy. The founder of Protect My Retirement Funds began this Early Warning System because of his own experience of losing money in his 401k. He knew from experience that by the time you receive your quarterly statement, it is too late. The stocks or funds you own in the plan have already lost huge amounts, and there’s nothing you can do at that point.

The founder knew that if people had more timely information, they could move their money to money market selections within the plan, or other options within the plan that were doing better than the ones they had initially selected.

When you sign up with Protect My Retirement Funds, you will:

Know which securities are winning investments and dump the losers
Cut your losses before your next quarterly statement
Get 52 weekly reports instead of 4 quarterly reports
Use it for your other investment accounts too

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For complete program details, please visit our main site - Protect My Retirement Funds.