average inflation rate

With the recent stock market crash, many people are understandably wary about investing. Concerns about the volatility of the stock market, and the prospect of losses during downturn, have convinced many that stock investing is not for them. However, “safer” investments like cash and bonds may not provide the needed returns for your portfolio to [...]

There are two rules often cited by investors that sound similar but that in fact make very different claims. In this article, I’ll describe the differences between the two rules — the Multiply-by-25 Rule and the 4-Percent Rule.

The Multiply-by-25 Rule
The purpose of The Multiply-by-25 Rule is to tell an investor how much he needs to [...]

“When should I take Social Security?” is the first question everyone faces when contemplating retirement. More than 50% of all men and women start taking benefits at 62. By age 66, well over 90% of all men and women are taking benefits according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The Break Even Approach
The [...]

Should I get back into the stock market? You might be asking yourself this question if you had bailed out during the recent market downturn and watched it climbed almost 30% in March. I don’t blame you if you got out. Many people developed their investment strategy while the stock market was doing well, and [...]

In this Ask the Expert with Larry Swedroe article, Thomas is wondering why his iShares Barclays TIPS Bond TIP ETF hasn’t paid dividend since last October and if he should switch to individual TIPS through Treasury Direct instead. Here’s the question from Thomas:
I own the TIP ETF (iShares Barclays TIPS Bond). It has not paid [...]

This is the 12th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]

This is the 11th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]

This is the 10th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]

Net Worth Review
Wow, June was a terrible month for stock investors. Bad economy, Midwest flood, inflation, high oil price, among other factors added up to an -8.6% drop for the S&P500 — from 1400.38 to 1280.00! According to NetworthIQ, my net worth went down -3.04% — mostly due to my retirement and stock investments, and [...]

This is the 6th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]