|
|
|
401(k) Plans
You have permission to this article either electronically or in print as long as the author bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (typos excluded). Please provide a courtesy e-mail to ...
Buy and Hold Investment Strategy
Buy and Hold Investment Strategy
"Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment strategies promoted today. "Buy and hold" is also one of the few investment methods where you are guaranteed to lose money 2 out...
Real Estate Problem Solver
Introduction
There are many areas one can invest in. Since I was 15 years old I have looked for the fastest, most effective way to accumulate a lot of wealth, with the least amount of risk. I am now 58. While looking for this road to truth,...
Start Taking the Headaches out of Your Finances with this Do-It-Yourself Financial Plan
Actions You Take Today Assure Your Comfortable Future
It’s not really news but You’ll need money the rest of your
life. Hopefully you’ll have all you need. To get there you
need to think about how your actions today will influence
your...
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)
SIPC protects customers of registered securities brokers. SIPC is a nonprofit, membership corporation, funded by its member securities brokers. SIPC is neither a government agency nor a regulatory authority. The coverage provided by SIPC is often...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inflation Proof Your Investment Portfolio with ETF’s
Even though inflation has been relatively quiet in the U.S. since the late 1980’s, there now appears to be some strong evidence that it may be starting to heat up again with an expanding economy, combined with skyrocketing oil and housing prices in certain key regions of the country. While the Federal Reserve has been raising key interest rates citing the threat of rising inflation, the cautious message coming out from the Feds are that, inflation is still benign and not yet a threat. Inflation is benign? Excuse me, but the cheapest gas I can find anywhere in this area is $2.23 a gallon, which is up almost 50% from last year and housing prices in my Howard County, MD neighborhood have more than doubled in the past five years.
Inflation should really be a major concern for all investors because it reduces the value of their savings over time. History has also shown that traditional investment in financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds typically fare poorly in the face of sharply rising inflation, as evidenced by the savage decline experienced during the last bout of serious inflation during the 1970’s.
Fortunately for investors, there have been quiet a bit of improvements made in the financial markets since the 1970’s, and investors now have a great deal more options available to help protect their portfolio from the scourge of inflation. One of the best and easiest ways investors can diversify their portfolio is through the use of Exchange Traded Funds, commonly referred to as ETFs. ETFs you might recall are similar to passive index based mutual funds, but they can be bought and sold in the market just like stocks. There are currently more than 170 different ETFs (and still growing!) that investors can choose from, and these ETFs
cover the full gamut from domestic stock index to fixed income, international and even real estate and commodity related.
An easy way to inflation proof your portfolio then would be to replace a portion of your portfolio holdings from domestic equity based securities, such as S&P500 type stocks and traditional bonds, with an Inflation-protected bond ETF and Real Estate or Gold ETFs.
Table 1
Inflation Protected Bond ETF:
- iShares Lehman TIPS Bond Fund (NYSE:TIP)
Real Estate Index ETF:
- Vanguard REIT VIPERs (AMEX:VNQ)
- iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund (AMEX:ICF)
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund (AMEX:IYR)
Gold ETF:
- streetTRACKS Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD)
- iShares COMEX Gold Trust (AMEX:IAU)
By adding these alternative asset classes into their portfolio mix, investors will realize not only significant benefits from diversification as these asset classes have a very low correlation with domestic equity and fixed income assets, but protection from the risk of inflation as well. For a full listing of Exchange Traded Funds, check out the Nasdaq market website at http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/ETFsCompare.asp.
About the Author
Mr. John J. Lah, MBA, CFA is a Principal at Waverly Financial Group (http://www.my-finance.net), a no commissions, no product sales, Fee-Only financial advisory firm located in Ellicott City, MD, specializing in portfolio management with Exchange Traded Funds. Mr. Lah received his MBA from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA and is a CFA charter holder.
|
|
|
|
|
| Morningstar: Stocks, Mutual Funds, and Investing |
| Offers investment research. Covers stocks, funds and college savings plans. |
| www.morningstar.com |
|
| StockSmart - Putting the Individual Investor Ahead |
| StockSmart putting individual investors ahead with research that allows individuals to easily compare industry competitors. Take stock quotes to the next ... |
| www.stocksmart.com |
|
| Finance - Stocks-Mutual-Funds Ezine Articles |
| EzineArticles.com allows ezine or email list publishers to upload or download free expert content that can be used within email newsletters or websites. |
| ezinearticles.com |
|
| Finance: Stocks Mutual Funds Articles from EzineArticles.com |
| http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Finance:Stocks-Mutual-Funds Free Content For Your Ezine or Website http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/ Having a ... |
| ezinearticles.com |
|
| NewsIsFree: USATODAY.com: Stocks/Mutual Funds: Information About ... |
| USATODAY.com: Stocks/Mutual Funds · Original XML Source Money Classifieds - Stocks/Mutual Funds Copyright 2011, USATODAY.com, USA TODAY ... |
| www.newsisfree.com |
|
| Online Giving - Campus Crusade for Christ International |
| Credit Card by Mail or Phone. Other Ways to Give. Non-Cash Gifts: Stocks, Mutual Funds, & Property Gifts · Planned Giving: Wills, Trusts & Annuities ... |
| https: |
|
| New way to watch stocks, mutual funds & 401k at office. Free ... |
| Excel workbook for stocks and mutual funds. Download quotes directly from Internet. |
| www.esquotes.com |
|
| News From The Associated Press |
| Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Comments and questions. |
| customwire.ap.org |
|
| Google Finance Launches : Track Stocks, Mutual Funds & Companies |
| Google Finance offers an easier way to search for stocks, mutual funds, public and private companies. Further, Google Finance also offers a broad range of ... |
| www.quickonlinetips.com |
|
| Yahoo! Answers - Individual stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs? |
| 2 answers - what are the difference between individual stocks , mutual funds and ETFs? which one is better for investment ? |
| answers.yahoo.com |
|
| Petition Spot :: View Forum - Investing: Stocks, Mutual Funds |
| Investing: Stocks, Mutual Funds Moderators: None Users browsing this forum: None, Goto page. Post new topic · Petition Spot Forum Index->Investing: Stocks, ... |
| www.petitionspot.com |
|
| Donate Stocks/Mutual Funds/Bonds: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical ... |
| Subordinate Link Selected Link (Level 3): Donate Stocks/Mutual Funds/Bonds · Subordinate Link Donate by Telephone · Subordinate Link Employee Giving ... |
| www.bidmc.harvard.edu |
|
| Gifts of Stocks/Mutual Funds/Bonds: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical ... |
| Subordinate Link Selected Link (Level 3): Gifts of Stocks/Mutual Funds/Bonds · Subordinate Link Donate By Telephone or Mail ... |
| www.bidmc.harvard.edu |
|
| U.S. stocks - mutual funds that invest in American companies ... |
| US stocks - mutual funds that invest in American companies from Kiplingers Personal Finance Magazine in Business & Finance provided free by LookSmart Find ... |
| www.findarticles.com |
|
| Investment capsule: - stocks, mutual funds and fixed income Money ... |
| Investment capsule: - stocks, mutual funds and fixed income from Money Digest in Business & Finance provided free by LookSmart Find Articles. |
| www.findarticles.com |
|
| stocks mutual funds invest free stock quotes stock picks investing ... |
| Free short term stock picks. Buy, sell and hold recommendations. Stock market, financial investments, quotes, mutual funds. |
| home.flash.net |
|
| Stocks/Mutual Funds - Gospel for Asia |
| 14500 native missionaries already serve and plant over 10 churches daily. Help sponsor a native missionary for $30 per month. 100% goes directly to the ... |
| www.gfa.org |
|
| Keeping Good Records: Stocks, Mutual Funds, and Bond Investing |
| Keeping Good Records: Stocks, Mutual Funds, and Bond Investing. |
| taxes.about.com |
|
| Online Trading at Fidelity- Stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options ... |
| With Fidelity online trading, you get low commissions, trading tools, and a range of investment options. |
| https: |
|
| Articles for Reprint - Stocks-Mutual-Funds |
| Stocks-Mutual-Funds. Personal-Finance · Currency-Trading ... By Sachin A | On June 1, 2006 | In Stocks-Mutual-Funds | Rated. Full Article · Print Article ... |
| www.articles-hub.com |
|
|