Investment

Investing should be easy – just buy low and sell high – but most of us have trouble following that simple advice. There are principles and strategies that may enable you to put together an investment portfolio that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. Understanding these principles and strategies can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that snare some investors.

Featured Video

Should I Invest in Gold?

Learning more about gold and its history may help you decide whether it has a place in your portfolio.

Featured Presentation

5 Smart Investing Principles

Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

The Business Cycle

How will you weather the ups and downs of the business cycle?

How Stocks Work

Understanding how a stock works is key to understanding your investments.

When Markets React

When markets shift, experienced investors stick to their strategy.

• Articles

  Quarterly Market Review: January-March 2020

  The world's economies and stock markets were rocked by the spread of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020. Investors' fears prompted a major sell-off in February and March, plunging stocks well below their 2019 closing marks. But the passage of the CARES Act at the end of the month helped ease investors' concerns enough to move back to stocks. Learn more here.

  A Look at Diversification

  Diversification is an investment principle designed to manage risk, but it can't prevent against a loss.

  Asset Allocation

  Consider how your assets are allocated and if that allocation is consistent with your time frame and risk tolerance.

  The Great Debate Continues: Active vs. Passive

  In investments, one great debate asks the question, “Active or Passive Investing: Which Is Better?”

  Pullbacks, Corrections, and Bear Markets

  Clearing up confusion from the economic downturn following COVID-19 and how it might affect your financial strategy.

  Best-Performing Asset Classes

  Bonds may outperform stocks one year only to have stocks rebound the next.

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• Calculators

  What Is My Risk Tolerance?

  This questionnaire will help determine your tolerance for investment risk.

  Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred Savings

  Use this calculator to compare the future value of investments with different tax consequences.

  Impact of Taxes and Inflation

  Estimate the potential impact taxes and inflation can have on the purchasing power of an investment.

  What Is the Dividend Yield?

  This calculator helps determine your pre-tax and after-tax dividend yield on a particular stock.

  Saving for College

  This calculator can help you estimate how much you should be saving for college.

  How Compound Interest Works

  Use this calculator to better see the potential impact of compound interest on an asset.

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• Presentations

  5 Smart Investing Principles

  Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

  5 Smart Investing Strategies

  There are some smart strategies that may help you pursue your investment objectives

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• Videos

  Events on Wall Street

  Can successful investors predict changes in the markets? Some can but others miss the market’s signals.

  Inflation and Your Portfolio

  Even low inflation rates can pose a threat to investment returns.

  Emerging Market Opportunities

  What are your options for investing in emerging markets?

  The Rule of 72

  Do you know how long it may take for your investments to double in value? The Rule of 72 is a quick way to figure it out.

  Jane Bond: Decoding Diversification

  Agent Jane Bond is on the case, discovering how bonds diversify a portfolio.

  Should You Invest in Exchange Traded Funds?

  There are hundreds of ETFs available. Should you invest in them?

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