Money Talks

May 2022

With These Five Moves, You Can Step Back from the Stock Market’s Pain – And Get Ready for the Wealth Window to Come

May 6, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Just one day after the U.S. Federal Reserve ignited a stock-market rally worth $1 trillion, blue chips and tech stocks on Thursday experienced their worst single-day free falls since 2020. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.99% to hit its lowest close since November 2020. And bitcoin dropped to its lowest level in more than two months. Those are numbers – or what the experts might refer to as a “macro” view. But it’s easy to forget that these headline events

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April 2022

3 Simple Ways to Prepare for Stagflation

April 29, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Last week, I shared some somber news with you… It’s looking more and more likely that we’re headed for stagflation – an economic environment where we see high inflation and a weak economy at the same time. This is a relatively rare situation. We haven’t seen anything like it in the U.S. in nearly 50 years. But the warning signs are unmistakable. One the one hand, inflation is higher than it’s been in decades. And several structural issues – including

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Inflationary Risk Smoke Signals: What Could Be Ahead

April 22, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Regular Money Talks readers know I believe inflation will likely remain elevated for the foreseeable future. However, the relationship between inflation and the economy isn’t necessarily as clear-cut as many folks assume. According to the conventional wisdom, periods of high inflation tend to result in a booming or overheated economy and a strong job market (or vice versa). On the other hand, periods of low inflation or outright deflation tend to coincide with a weak economy and higher unemployment. Even

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Are These Risky Stocks Lurking in Your Portfolio?

April 8, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Regular Money Talks readers know I’m relatively conservative when it comes to investing. In fact, my two favorite strategies are as simple as they are safe: I love to own shares of the highest-quality companies – what I call “forever stocks” – for the long term. And I love to sell shorter-term options on those same kinds of stocks for extra income. So you probably won’t be surprised to learn I’ve never been a big fan of investing in Chinese

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Simple Strategies to Keep Inflation Out of Your Wallet

April 1, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

A new Quinnipiac University poll this week showed that 30% of Americans believe inflation is the most urgent issue in our country today. No other issue garnered even half as much concern. It’s not hard to understand why. Consumer prices have been soaring at the fastest pace in decades. And essentials like food, home-heating fuels, and gasoline have been leading the way higher. For many folks, the basic cost of living has never been higher. And unfortunately, this situation appears

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March 2022

Don’t Let Inflation Derail Your Investment Goals

March 25, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about stocks and the economy right now. But if you’re like most folks, inflation is probably near the top of your list. And for good reason. The U.S. government’s official data shows consumer prices surged at a 7.9% annual rate in February. To put that into context, Americans haven’t seen the purchasing power of their savings plummet this quickly in more than 40 years, near the end of the devastating inflationary bear

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A Powerful Strategy for Today’s Uncertain Markets

March 18, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

I probably don’t have to tell you that the outlook for the markets is incredibly uncertain today. But that’s especially true for folks who are nearing or already in retirement. Traditional fixed-income investments like bonds no longer offer a reasonable risk-to-reward proposition. Bank accounts and CDs pay nothing. And even safe, dividend-paying stocks generally don’t provide enough income for most folks to get by on. Meanwhile, soaring inflation is quietly eating away at their savings, making it even harder to

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A ‘Secret’ to Making Money in Bull and Bear Markets Alike

March 11, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve shared some of the most important ideas that have shaped how I invest my own money. The first has to do with the benefits of using a more “tactical” approach to investing. Whether that’s using simple trailing stops or our more comprehensive TradeSmith entry and exit signals, our research suggests most folks do much better with this strategy than with a traditional “buy-and-hold” approach. The second involves what I like to call “forever stocks.”

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This Is the ‘Secret’ to Buy-and-Hold Success

March 4, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Last week, I explained why I think “buy-and-hold” investing is a poor strategy for most investors most of the time. In short, it requires strict emotional discipline to follow successfully over the long term. And it can expose you to significant market- and stock-specific risks. However, I also told you there is one specific situation where I think a buy-and-hold strategy can work well for individual investors. It involves what I like to call “forever stocks.” These are a select

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February 2022

Three Reasons I’ll Never Be a ‘Buy-and-Hold’ Investor

February 25, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

If you’ve been a Money Talks reader for long, you know I don’t always agree with the conventional wisdom on investing and finance. For example, I think the way most people use and think about debt is foolish. And I think 99% of mutual funds are expensive garbage. But if I had to pick just one piece of traditional advice that upsets me, it would have to be the recommendation to “buy and hold” investments for the long run. In

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What You Need to Know Before Choosing a 401(k) Plan

February 18, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve covered the basics of good 401(k) investing. We learned how to avoid some of the most common mistakes investors make with these popular accounts, and I’ve shared some additional steps you can take to maximize the long-term value of your retirement savings. But there is still one question that I haven’t addressed: How do you decide whether to contribute to a traditional or Roth 401(k) plan? As I mentioned last week, this can

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Three Ways to Maximize Your 401(k) Contributions

February 11, 2022TradeSmith Editorial Staff

Last week I shared advice from Ted Benna — the “father of the 401(k)” — on how to avoid some of the biggest mistakes many retirement investors make. Benna’s guidance is an important start for anyone hoping to achieve their retirement goals. But it doesn’t address all the limitations of many 401(k) plans. So today, I’d like to share a few more ideas that you can consider to further reduce your risk and maximize your returns in your retirement accounts.

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