Weekly Reads 12/16

The best part of managing your own investments passively? You have plenty of time to read. Here are some articles that caught my eye this past week. Topics include; Finding the best passive funds, risks of minimum volatility funds, ways to save $100,000 extra for retirement and more.

 

Morningstar – “4 Passive Funds to Rule Them All”

A great list of funds for investors looking for cheap, passively managed mutual funds. Vanguard with 3 out of the 4.

 

Vanguard – “Plain Talk About Minimum Volatility”

Minimum Volatility funds have become very popular, what do you need to know before investing in these funds? In this article, Vanguard is referring to its new global minimum volatility fund it is launching, but the characteristics are similar to all minimum volatility funds out there.

 

Also take a look at our Fund Spotlight Series article covering these minimum volatility funds here: http://begintoinvest.com/fund-spotlight-series-low-volatility-etfs/

 

MarketWatch – “Here’s What You’ll Save By Ditching Cable”

As cable costs continue to soar, hundreds of thousands of homes are “cutting the cord” to their expensive monthly cable bill this year, which average $90 per month and can easily exceed $150!

Yet millions still pay the absurd prices and millions of Americans face the problem of being unprepared for retirement, just how much can cutting your cable bill help your retirement plan?

$90 per month ($1080 per year) compounded at 6% for 40 years:

cut_cable_and_save_this_much

 

Richmond Federal Reserve – “National Economic Indicators”

 

The Federal Reserve is home to the best macroeconomic data out there. Various Federal Reserve banks release monthly updates organized like this. Just 50 charts charting all the major economic statistics.

 

Something I am watching is the yield curve, which has noticeably steepened . Generally this means better profit margins for banks, and if the trend continues may lead us back to “normal” interest rates and investing environment:

yield_curve_-_national_economic_indicators

Categories: Investing and Retirement

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