Hedge Fund Expenses: They’re Not Cheap
One of the articles submitted this week to my roundup was an interview with a fellow who works as the co-manager of a new micro-cap value hedge fund. After taking a look at the fund, I thought I’d use it as an example of why I suggest that most investors stay away from such investments. [...]
Vanguard Target Retirement 2055: Why the Minimum Initial Investment?
Vanguard recently released a new mutual fund: Vanguard Target Retirement 2055. As you might imagine, it’s basically the same as their existing 2050 fund, but with each of the asset allocation changes scheduled to occur five years further into the future. For the most part, I like Vanguard’s target retirement funds. But I’ve got one [...]
Investing Blog Roundup: Successful Budgeting Edition
Aside from the hullabaloo about Philadelphia’s “new blogger tax” (which, as TaxGirl explains, is neither new, nor specific to bloggers), perhaps the most exciting thing in the world of personal finance blogs this week is that Craig from Money Help for Christians just released a new ebook about successful budgeting. If budgeting is something you’re [...]
Motley Fool Retirement Calculator: Try Again
Get Rich Slowly recently hosted a post from Motley Fool writer Robert Brokamp about how much money it takes to retire. The article links to the Motley Fool’s “Am I Saving Enough?” calculator, which seeks to answer the question of how long you can expect your retirement savings to last. I’ve written before about why [...]
TIPS vs. Nominal Treasury Bonds
TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) are US government bonds that provide a specific after-inflation return (i.e., “real return”) as compared to traditional “nominal” bonds which provide a specific before-inflation return. We’ve discussed before when it makes sense to use individual TIPS as opposed to TIPS funds. But we’ve never discussed when to use TIPS at all [...]