Evaluating an advisor means looking at more than returns. Good advice also covers planning, taxes, behavior and cost. Here is a structured way to review it once a year. 1. Returns after all fees Ask for your returns net of every fee (advisory fee, fund expenses, commissions) over 1, 3 and 5 years. A portfolio … Read more
You owe capital gains tax when you sell an investment for more than you paid, in a regular (taxable) brokerage account. Inside 401(k)s and IRAs, trades are not taxed when they happen. Managing capital gains is mostly about timing, account choice and record keeping. Short-term vs long-term For the 2026 tax year, the 0% rate … Read more
A target-date fund is an all-in-one fund built for a goal in a specific year, usually retirement. A “2060” fund is aimed at someone planning to retire around 2060. It holds a mix of stock and bond funds and shifts gradually toward bonds as the date approaches. You pick one fund; it does the allocating … Read more
A 401(k) is a retirement savings plan offered by an employer. You choose a percentage of each paycheck to contribute, the money is invested in funds from the plan’s menu, and taxes are deferred or avoided depending on the type of contribution. Traditional vs Roth 401(k) Many plans offer both, and you can split contributions. … Read more
A robo-advisor is an online service that asks you questions about goals, timeline and risk tolerance, then invests your money in a portfolio of low-cost funds and manages it automatically. Well-known examples include Betterment, Wealthfront, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, Vanguard Digital Advisor and Fidelity Go. What they do well The limits Who they suit Who might … Read more
Fees are one of the few parts of investing you control. Market returns are uncertain; a fee is guaranteed to come out every year, and it compounds against you just as returns compound for you. What 1% really costs Take $100,000 growing for 30 years at 6% a year before fees: The 1% fee, which … Read more
The account you use decides how your investments are taxed and when you can touch the money. The same index fund can leave you with very different amounts depending on the account it sits in. Taxable brokerage account Employer plans: 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) Health savings account (HSA) Available with a qualifying … Read more
Retirement investing is mostly about three things: putting money in the right accounts, holding a sensible mix of investments, and contributing steadily for decades. The details matter less than starting and staying the course. Step 1: Use accounts in the right order A common order for US workers: Self-employed? Look at a SEP IRA or … Read more
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a fund that holds a basket of investments (stocks, bonds or other assets) and trades on a stock exchange like a single share. Buying one share of a broad market ETF gives you a small piece of every company in it. How ETFs work ETF vs index mutual fund They … Read more
The question mixes two categories. A mutual fund is a structure: a pool of money from many investors, run by a fund company. An index fund is a strategy: track a market index. Many index funds are mutual funds; others are ETFs. The real comparison is between actively managed mutual funds and index (passive) funds. … Read more
