The Power of Starting Young

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It is always exciting to see people in their twenties beginning to save for retirement. They are making life so much easier on themselves by harnessing the power of compound interest. The following chart assumes a theoretical 6.5% annual investment return, a $5,500 annual contribution to a Roth IRA, and a retirement age of 65. Using […]

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What is a Financial Hedge?

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A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses/gains that may be incurred as a result of a particular risk or vulnerability. In simple language, a hedge is used to reduce any substantial losses/gains suffered by an investor or institution. Hedging Against Inflation Certain investments are very vulnerable to the erosive effects of inflation. Consider […]

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Rising Interest Rates & Your Bond Portfolio

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Bond prices and interest rates have what is called an inverse relationship. This means that when one goes up the other goes down. To understand why this is the case, let’s look at an example. Suppose you purchased a treasury bond for $1000 that was issued with a 3% yield. At the time you purchased […]

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Merger Arbitrage & Why You Should Care?

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What is Arbitrage? Arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets: striking a combination of matching deals that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market prices. Example: In the 19th century, the Rothschilds would buy gold in London one day and sell it […]

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Cumulative vs Annual Compound Rates of Return

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Returns can be presented on a cumulative basis or as an annual compound rate. It is critical that investors understand the difference between these two methods of reporting. Cumulative Returns Cumulative returns express the total percentage increase in the value of an investment from the time it was purchased. Example: You purchased XYZ shares 10 […]

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Financial Advisor Compensation

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The way in which a financial professional is compensated raises the question of whether they have your best interests in mind. You can judge for yourself by simply looking at the following three dominate models of compensation: Fee-Only Compensation This model minimizes conflicts of interest. A Fee-Only financial advisor only charges for his or her […]

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