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Kirk Aguer
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| Kirk Aguer is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley. To reach him, call (310) 319-5220 or e-mail kirk.aguer@morganstanley.com
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Articles by this Author
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To manage your money successfully, you need a standard by which you can measure your economic progress.
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Evaluating your portfolio’s performance on a regular basis is an important step toward reaching your investment goals.
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The typical American worker can easily hold a dozen or more jobs in his or her lifetime. The result is often a confusing array of retirement plan statements from multiple employers. Fortunately, it’s easy to simplify your life by consolidating all your separate retirement accounts into one IRA. Doing so may be a savvy move.
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Almost every working person in America is, in some way, planning for retirement. Most of us are aware that traditional sources of retirement income, such as Social Security or an employer-sponsored pension, probably will not fully fund our retirement as they did for past generations. It is up to us to prepare financially for our retirement years. As we build our personal retirement assets, we generally estimate our needs based on the cost of our expected or desired retirement lifestyle, the current outlook for inflation, what we can currently afford to save and our estimated life expectancy.
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Diversification is an investment strategy that helps you avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. When you allocate your investment dollars among many investments, you potentially reduce the risk of a single investment and help to optimize your overall return given your risk tolerance. There are a number of ways you can diversify when deciding which stocks are best suited for you.
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Periods of increased stock market volatility, when securities prices tend to sharply rise or fall within a relatively short period of time, make many investors understandably uncertain. Whether you are currently “in the market” or are considering entering, you’ve probably been wondering, “What’s the best course of investment action to take during periods of unsettled market activity?”
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When considering individual stocks for your portfolio, a company’s size is one of the key ways of categorizing potential investments.
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The Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Businesses (SIMPLE) is a retirement plan designed to help employees working for small businesses save for retirement on a tax-favored basis, while allowing employers current-year tax deductions. A SIMPLE Plan may use a SIMPLE individual retirement account (a SIMPLE IRA) to receive plan contributions. Here are some questions and answers about the SIMPLE IRA retirement plan.
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When considering individual stocks for your portfolio, a company’s size is one of the key ways of categorizing potential investments. Generally, companies issuing common stock fall into one of three size groups: large-cap, mid-cap or small-cap, based on the total stock market value of the company that underlies the stock. This is commonly referred to as “market capitalization.”
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It seemed that all anyone needed was a modem and a point of view just a few short years ago, when the stock market was reaching all time highs and stock valuations were out of whack. Alas, valuations were recalibrated. Investors are abandoning the self-directed approach to investing in favor of a more disciplined investing strategy. In fact, the total volume of online trades fell to 50.6 million by mid-2001, from a high of 82.3 million in mid-2000, a decline of 39 percent.
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It’s never been more important for the children in your life to receive a college education. Studies show that over a lifetime, the earning gap between a person with a high school education and one who has a college degree may exceed $1 million, according to The College Board, a not-for-profit educational association.
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When professional security analysts evaluate a stock they usually focus on a number of considerations, two of which are fundamentals and underlying valuation. You may wish to take into account those evaluation methods when considering a stock for your portfolio. You can find the information you need from annual or quarterly company earnings reports, from reading the newspapers or by asking your financial advisor for more information.
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As you move through the different stages of life — buying a home, starting a family or retirement — your investment needs change. There are times when you may be willing to increase investment risk in seeking to capture growth opportunities. Other times, you may want to decrease risk in seeking to secure a steady flow of income. Does your portfolio represent your current needs? If not, you may want to consider updating your asset allocation strategy.
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As you approach retirement, you will quite likely be assessing your financial situation to determine if you have saved and invested enough to afford a comfortable future. Generally, financial professionals advise that to maintain your current lifestyle you will need approximately 70 percent to 80 percent of your current annual income each year in retirement, although your own situation may differ based on your personal goals and finances.
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When you decide to invest in the stock market, how do you refine the huge list of available equities down to just the most promising candidates?
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MIND YOUR BUSINESS
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The typical American worker can easily hold a dozen or more jobs in his or her lifetime. The result is often a confusing array of retirement plan statements from multiple employers.
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»
MIND YOUR BUSINESS
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As you approach retirement, you will quite likely be assessing your financial situation to determine if you have saved and invested enough to afford a comfortable future. Generally, financial professionals advise that to maintain your current lifestyle you will need approximately 70 percent to 80 percent of your current annual income each year in retirement, although your own situation may differ based on your personal goals and finances.
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MIND YOUR BUSINESS
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Q: I am more interested in investing for income over the long term rather than in participating in the daily ups and downs of the stock market. What would be a good investment strategy for me?
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If you’re changing jobs, it’s important to understand the options you have for managing your IRAs.
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