After the last couple of years, many investors are wondering if there’s an investment strategy that could have avoided all that volatility while still earning the returns they’ll need to retire on time. This Marketplace article discusses the “permanent portfolio” strategy developed by the late investment adviser Harry Browne. The portfolio arguably has the best long-term track record of producing returns that have been higher than the stock market with minimal volatility. The strategy’s secret? Old-fashioned diversification taken to a whole new level. To paraphrase: The Office‘s Michael Scott: it’s like diversification on acid.
Today's Featured Articles
Results from the National Financial Literacy Survey
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling recently published the results of their annual Consumer Financial Literacy survey.
As reported by finance.yahoo.com, the highlights include:
- Since 2007, more than two in five adults now keep track of their spending, an increase of 39 percent. However, more than half don’t have a budget and more than 11 million adults don’t know how much they spend on food, housing and entertainment.
- Adults with non-retirement savings have gone up from 63 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2010, but three in ten report they have no savings and only 24 percent are saving more now than they were a year ago. Nearly two in five (39 percent) Gen Y adults–the most of any group–report having no savings.
- Nearly two-thirds of adults (65 percent) have not ordered a copy of their credit report in the past year. You can get a free credit report once a year from each credit reporting bureau at: annualcreditreport.com.
The full results from this survey are available at the NFCC web site.
Refresh Financial Education: Vote on These Projects or Create Your Own Now!
Pepsi Refresh Project
The Pepsi Refresh Project at refresheverything.com is giving away over a million dollars to people and organizations with great ideas. Anyone can submit a project and projects are voted for by the public.
There are already a number of financial education and financial literacy projects that could do great things for financial literacy if they win. Find your favorites and be sure to vote and spread the word to friends and family.
Only one day left to create a project and voting takes place the all month and again on newly accepted projects from 7/1-7/31. So let’s get together and make the difference that could change America!
New Research Released by Financial Finesse Shows Employees’ Gaining New Consciousness about Their Finances
From their press release
Manhattan Beach, Calif.—May 25, 2010—Financial Finesse (www.financialfinesse.com ), the leading provider of workplace financial education programs, released today its Q1 2010 report on employee financial trends. The report is showing increasing evidence that the recession may have an enduring impact on employees’ outlook toward how they handle their finances, as they continue to take a more proactive role in bettering their financial situations.
Read the rest of the release. [PDF download]
Get the summary report. [PDF download]
YMM28: Home Buying Opportunities and How to Take Advantage of Them (June 1, 2010)
Listen now:
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Download the episode or subscribe using iTunes.
Host: Nancy Anderson, CFP®
Guest: Ilyce R. Glink, Real Estate Expert and President of Think Glink, Inc.
In this month’s show:
Nancy and Ilyce talk about current home buying opportunities and smart ways to take advantage of them. Ilyce is the author of Buy, Close, Move In and she owns and operates ThinkGlink.com, a web site to learn about real estate and other personal finance topics.
Resources:
Please send comments and ideas for future topics to:
ymm@financialfinesse.com.