Investing for Retirement

"The current institutionally provided retirement plans will not cover people’s needs upon..."

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 14:18:00 -0500

“The current institutionally provided retirement plans will not cover people’s needs upon retirement.”

- Scott Cook

Retirement Investment Plans

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 13:33:00 -0500

When investing for retirement, one of the most important choices is the choice of retirement plan.

Let’s start by taking a look at the retirement plan offered by your company. Once upon a time, these plans were quite sound. However, after the Enron upset and all that followed, people aren’t as secure in their company retirement plans anymore. If you choose not to invest in your company’s retirement plan, you do have other options.

First, you can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. You do not have to state to anybody that the returns are to be used for retirement in this sort of investing. Simply let your money grow overtime, and when certain investments reach their maturity, reinvest them and continue to let your money grow.

You can also open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). IRA’s are quite popular because the money is not taxed until you withdraw the funds. You may also be able to deduct your IRA contributions from the taxes that you owe. An IRA can be opened at most banks. A ROTH IRA is a newer type of retirement account. With a Roth, you pay taxes on the money that you are investing in your account, but when you cash out, no federal taxes are owed. Roth IRA’s can also be opened at a financial institution.

Another popular type of retirement account is the 401(k). 401(k’s) are typically offered through employers, but you may be able to open a 401(k) on your own. You should speak with a financial planner or accountant to help you with this. The Keogh plan is another type of IRA that is suitable for self employed people. Self-employed small business owners may also be interested in Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP). This is another type of Keogh plan that people typically find easier to administer than a regular Keogh plan.

Whichever retirement investment plan you choose, just make sure you choose one! Again, do not depend on social security, company retirement plans, or even an inheritance that may or may not come through! Take care of your financial future by investing in it today.

Different Investing Types

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:01:00 -0500

Overall, there are three different kinds of investing to consider, when investing for retirement. These include stocks, bonds, and cash. Sounds simple, right? Well, unfortunately, it gets very complicated from here on. You see, each type of investing has numerous types of investing that fall under it.

There is quite a bit to learn about each different investing type. The stock market can be a big scary place for those who know little or nothing about investing. Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a direct relation to the type of investor that you are. There are also three types of investors: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. The different types of investing also cater to the two levels of risk tolerance: high risk and low risk.

Conservative investors often invest in cash. Meaning that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. This is very safe investing that grow over a long period of time. This is also low risk investing.

Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, provided that it is low risk real estate.

Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is higher risk. They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth – or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investing. In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn’t. There’s always a risk.

Before you start investing for retirement, it is very important that you learn about the different investing types, and what they can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!

"Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others."

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:17:00 -0500

“Successful investing is anticipating the anticipations of others.”

- John Maynard Keynes

Investing Style and Risk Tolerance

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:11:00 -0500

Knowing what your risk tolerance and investment style are will help you choose investing plans more wisely. While there are many different investing types that one can make, there are really only three specific investing styles – and those three styles tie in with your risk tolerance. The three investing styles are conservative, moderate, and aggressive.

Naturally, if you find that you have a low tolerance for risk, your investing style will most likely be conservative or moderate at best. If you have a high tolerance for risk, you will most likely be a moderate or aggressive investor. At the same time, your financial goals will also determine what style of investing you use.

If you are investing for retirement in your early twenties, you should use a conservative or moderate style of investing – but if you are trying to get together the funds to buy a home in the next year or two, you would want to use an aggressive style.

Conservative investors want to maintain their initial investment. In other words, if they invest $5000 they want to be sure that they will get their initial $5000 back. This type of investor usually invests in common stocks and bonds and short term money market accounts. An interest earning savings account is very common for conservative investors.

A moderate investor usually invests much like a conservative investor, but will use a portion of their investing funds for higher risk investments. Many moderate investors invest 50% of their investing funds in safe or conservative investments, and invest the remainder in riskier investments.

An aggressive investor is willing to take risks that other investors won’t take. They invest higher amounts of money in riskier ventures in the hopes of achieving larger returns – either over time or in a short amount of time. Aggressive investors often have all or most of their investing funds tied up in the stock market.

Again, determining what investing style you will use will be determined by your financial goals and your risk tolerance. No matter what type of investing you do, however, you should carefully research that investment. You need all the facts, when investing for retirement!