Changing jobs? 3 tips for making a smooth switch
There are few occasions in life so filled with optimism—and stress—as leaving one company to join another. Regardless of how common career moves are, the tactical skill and emotional fortitude required is anything but typical. The stakes are high, and...
‘The One-Page Financial Plan’
If you’re like most Americans, you may be confused, or even paralyzed, when it comes to developing a financial plan. In fact, most investors I’ve met—including many of those who have a relationship with a stockbroker—don’t have a written investment...
‘Sure Things’ That Didn’t Pan Out
Each January, I put together a list of predictions that financial “gurus” have made for the upcoming year—sort of a consensus of “sure things.” I then keep track of whether or not these “sure thing” predictions have actually come to...
Currency Hedging? Individual Investors Shouldn’t Bother
As it has been so frequently noted in the financial press, last year the U.S. dollar appreciated significantly against most foreign currencies, including the widely quoted benchmark euro. For investors with a portion of their portfolio in unhedged international stocks,...
Money Talk: A Lifetime of Learning
As a regular contributor to The New York Times and the author of two books, Carl Richards knows the value of a good story. Here’s one he loves. It comes courtesy of Ron Lieber’s new book, The Opposite of Spoiled....
How Poor Decision-Making Affects Your Returns
We tend to think in the short term, but it hampers our ability to invest intelligently. In order to invest successfully, you need to be skilled at decision-making. This is true if you are a do-it-yourself investor or if you...
Why Individual Investors Shouldn’t Read Earnings Reports
During the years I worked as a buy-side equity analyst and an institutional portfolio manager, the first item I would always examine in an earnings report were the footnotes. That’s where all the truly juicy information appeared, and it never...
Simple Financial Solutions Often Beat the Complex Ones
“Can it really be that simple?” Over my career, I’ve heard these words from so many people. Clients, friends and family all just assumed that the process of financial planning needed to be complex. This assumption doesn’t surprise me. The...
UK Exceeds US In Common Sense
Recent events have led me to conclude that, at least in some ways, the U.K. is ahead of the United States when it comes to investing. The first—and by far the most important—reason I have for drawing such a conclusion...
How Economics and Literature Made Me a Better Investor
When I look back at the courses in high school and college that were most influential in my financial life, it’s a dead-even heat between economics (expected, right?) and English (whoa, come again?). At Wellesley College, there is an iconic...
