Four 401-K Tips

We recently spoke on WCCO explaining four tips everyone should consider when looking at their 401-K.  As the stock market continues new highs breaking two records today, Monday November 18th 2013, with the Dow Jones hitting a record 16,000 and the S & P 500 hitting 1,800 it is worth checking in on your current 401-K.  Click here, WCCO Interview, to check out the four tips and listen to the interview.

Who’s impacted by the Fed’s announcement yesterday?

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced that it would continue its current policies: buying $85 billion in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities each month, and keeping short-term interest low.

This has the most direct impact on the bond market. Investors of all stripes hold bonds, but particularly retirees who are typically looking for income and relative safety. The irony is, this year the bond market has been anything but safe. It’s been highly volatile as the market contemplates a change in Fed policy. Many bond portfolios have generated negative returns as bond prices have fallen.

What can an investor do? There are some strategies that a professional financial advisor can put in place to help. As we’ve discussed in previous blog posts, our strategy has been to focus on bonds with shorter maturities in order to avoid price volatility.
 
For investors looking for income, we’ve implemented different strategies—beyond bond portfolios—to try to meet that goal. While interest rates are beginning to rise, they’re still extremely low by historical standards, so alternatives such as our Paid in Advance® strategy may offer a more suitable answer for income-seeking investors.

--Nick Asmus, Wade Financial Group Investment Department

Is Your Life Insurance Company Considered Strong?

TheStreet.com recently released their analysis of the top life insurance companies in the U.S. based upon financial strength and reserves.  This list is provided below. 

You will not find any of the companies that sell "gimmick" annuity products on the above list. Reason why: the companies that offer "to good to be true" product features are now faced with the daunting liability of having to make good on their promises, something that will be very hard to accomplish.  This poses a "ticking time bomb" for the heirs of many current annuity holders.

TheStreet.com Ratings has been recognized as the most conservative grader of life insurance financial strength by a leading consumer publication and was singled out as the only ratings agency that doesn't accept payments from any of the companies it tracks.

Investing lesson: 

There is no such thing as a free lunch.  Be wary of investment/annuity pitchmen.