A/D Juicebox Sliding into Fourth! (October 8th)

W​​​​​​​e are happy to present our A/D JuiceBox Webinar Series. JuiceBox will provide current events, financial planning strategies, taxes, investments, and general business updates.

We have a special guest, Margo Steinlage from Steinlage Insurance Agency, who will join us to discuss Medicare.

Join us as Autumn fills the air, and the time is quiet and mellow to discuss things in the financial planning world.

Mutual Funds: Building Blocks for a Retirement Portfolio

Diversification — not putting all your eggs in one basket — is one of the most cherished principles of investing. That’s one reason why mutual funds have become a popular choice for many investors’ workplace retirement accounts. They’re an easy way to invest in many different securities at once, and to do so at a lower cost than you might be able to achieve on your own.

Evaluating Mutual Fund Fees and Expenses

When you’re choosing among mutual funds, you should take into account what the fund will cost you in fees and expenses. The higher those costs, the better the fund’s performance needs to be to compensate for them.

Closing a Retirement Income Gap

When you determine how much income you’ll need in retirement, you may base your projection on the type of lifestyle you plan to have and when you want to retire. However, as you grow closer to retirement, you may discover that your income won’t be enough to meet your needs. If you find yourself in this situation, you’ll need to adopt a plan to bridge this projected income gap.

Investing for Major Financial Goals

The first step in investing is defining your dreams for the future. If you are married or in a long-term relationship, spend some time together discussing your joint and individual goals.

You’ll end up with a list of goals. Some of these goals will be long term (you have more than 15 years to plan), some will be short term (5 years or less to plan), and some will be intermediate (between 5 and 15 years to plan). You can then decide how much money you’ll need to accumulate and which investments can best help you meet your goals.

Taxation of Investments

It’s nice to own stocks, bonds, and other investments. Nice, that is, until it’s time to fill out your federal income tax return. At that point, you may be left scratching your head. Just how do you report your investments and how are they taxed?

Investing in Stocks

Businesses sell shares of stock to investors as a way to raise money to finance expansion, pay off debt, and provide operating capital. Each share of stock represents a proportional share of ownership in the company. As a stockholder, you share in a portion of any profits and growth of the company. Dividends from earnings are paid to shareholders, and growth is realized by the increase in value of the stock.

Six Keys to More Successful Investing

A successful investor maximizes gain and minimizes loss. Though there can be no guarantee that any investment strategy will be successful and all investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, here are six basic principles that may help you invest more successfully.

Are You an Investor or a Speculator?

Recent market news — around social-media driven stock trading that created extreme price swings for shares of certain companies — may have you wondering whether you should jump into the excitement. Before you leap, you might consider this advice from legendary investor and teacher Benjamin Graham, considered the father of value investing: “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” (1)