Thursday, April 9, 2026
If you listen to financial news networks, such as CNBC, you get the impression that financial experts are waiting for the future to reveal itself so they can guide investment decisions. As I listen to CNBC, I notice that whenever a government report, or data point, or market metric is discussed, the commentary always includes […]
If you read my articles here, you are likely someone who is comfortable managing your own portfolio and investments. I am writing this so you can talk to the people you know who find investing in the markets very scary. They have little or no knowledge and don’t know where to start. I talk to […]
Generally accepted financial planning guidelines always recommend that a portion (typically 40%) of an investor’s portfolio be in bonds. Very few buy individual bonds, meaning this allocation will likely be in bond funds. There are some problems and risks to your wealth from a large allocation to a bond fund. First, a bond primer: A […]
Over the last few years, innovation in ETFs has been happening at a breakneck pace. When I see a new fund with a different strategy, I take a closer look and try to find a good investment use for it. Launched on February 18, 2026, the Roundhill S&P 500® Target 10 Managed Distribution ETF (TPAY) […]
Many new income investors are confused about when they need to hold stocks to collect dividends. Either they end up missing the dividend because they bought too late, or on the other side, they sold too early. Ongoing dividends from any stock are not guaranteed. A company’s board of directors will review the financial results […]
One of the joys of what I do is that my investment newsletter services help subscribers build more secure, happier financial lives. I regularly—as in weekly—receive emails telling me how much being a part of my services has helped someone’s financial life. I hear about retirement income beyond what they could have imagined. I hear […]
When I tell people that I write about stock market investing, you might understand that I get a lot of questions. One common question is what someone can do with money in a previous employer’s 401(k) plan. The money you have in a 401 (k) plan is your money. There may be some vesting of […]
It’s a surprise to me to realize that it has been more than five years since JP Morgan set off the wave of option strategy ETFs with the May 2020 launch of the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI). JEPI’s sister fund, the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ), launched in May 2022. The […]
I have been known to call closed-end funds (CEFs) the “junkyard of Wall Street.” A few good funds exist, but they are hard to dig out of the 387 publicly traded CEFs. One issue with closed-end funds is the widespread use of managed dividend policies.With a managed dividend policy, the fund managers set a dividend […]
Investors looking for a predictable income stream combined with high yields might like Target Pay ETFs. You’ve probably heard of Target Date Funds. These provide a set-and-forget portfolio for retirement with a shifting asset mix designed to become more conservative over time as a specific target date (like a retirement year) approaches. Target Pay ETFs […]
