June 2021

Why Save for Retirement in Your 20s?

When you’re in your 20s, retirement seems so far off that it hardly feels real at all. In fact, it’s one of the most common excuses people make to justify not saving for retirement. If that describes you, think of these savings instead as wealth accumulation, suggests Marguerita Cheng, CFP, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Rockville, Md.

How an IRA Works After Retirement

An individual retirement account (IRA), as the name implies, is a place to store those golden nest eggs for the golden years. But here’s an interesting fact: Many senior workers and new retirees are still building their IRAs. More than half of the IRAs owned by those near or in retirement (60 or older) saw balance increases over a three-year period, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

How to Conduct Due Diligence on a Financial Advisor

For 11 years, Phillip A. Kenner, a former financial advisor, solicited hockey players to invest money in schemes he said would earn significant profits. Rather than investing the money as promised, Kenner along with Tommy C. Constantine, a former professional race car driver, used the funds to pay for personal real estate purchases, jewelry, travel costs, credit card bills and other expenses. In total the victims of Kenner and Constantine’s schemes lost more than $15 million, according to a press release from the FBI.

How Should I Respond to Volatile Markets?

It is hard not to react to the stock market – especially when it makes wild, unpredictable gyrations up-and-down and steep, unexpected dives.

We look on petrified as our portfolios plunge in value. We call friends, family and financial advisors in search of reassurance. Some of us panic and sell to limit losses. Yet just a few months earlier we were eagerly pouring through news articles and analyst reports looking for the next big thing. A few of us bragged about double-digit returns.