With Theresa Hamacher.
Category Archives: Article
ETFs: Wide world of exchange-traded funds requires navigation for investors [Washington Post]
Choose one: How would you best describe exchange-traded funds?
A. Traditional
B. Alternative
C. Conservative
D. Aggressive
E. All of the above
Gingrich’s flawed Social Security and income tax proposals [Washington Post]
With Newt Gingrich vying for front-runner status in the Republican presidential primaries, his positions on important public policies such as Social Security and income taxes deserve scrutiny. In both cases, Gingrich adopts familiar Republican concepts — but then undermines their key objectives.
The case for labelling Newcits as complex [Financial Times]
If a fund uses derivatives heavily, does it become too complex for the average retail investor? That is the critical question facing the global fund industry right now.
Design key to Canada’s pension plan
[Financial Times]
Like many developed nations, Canada continues to refine its retirement system. As part of that effort, the provincial governments will soon authorise a new savings vehicle – Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs). With the right policy decisions, PRPPs will go a long way towards increasing retirement security for millions of Canadians.
Canada already has a sophisticated retirement savings system. It has a financially stable public pension programme, and it offers substantial tax benefits to private savings. Even with those incentives, however, less than half of all Canadian workers – highly concentrated in large employers – participate in a private plan.
Most Likely to Succeed:
Leadership in the Fund Industry
[Financial Analysts Journal]
What is the critical factor for success in the U.S. mutual fund industry? Is it top-ranked investment performance, innovative products, or pervasive distribution? In our view, it is none of these factors, despite their obvious importance. Instead, the best predictors of success in the U.S. fund business are the focus and organization of the fund sponsor. We believe that the most successful managers over the next decade will be organizations with two characteristics: dedication primarily to asset management and control by investment professionals.
Anxious about your retirement?
Here are eight ways to stay on track
[Washington Post]
Anxiety about retirement is high — and rises with every shudder in the financial markets. Americans are increasingly worried that they won’t have enough money to carry them through their lifetime. They’re looking for advice on how to invest their savings to meet that goal. Most of them are investing in mutual funds. More than half the assets in retirement plans managed by individuals — think IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s — are invested in mutual funds, according to the Investment Company Institute. Here are eight tips to help you manage your fund investments to keep your retirement savings on track.
The myth of corporate tax reform
[Washington Post]
House Speaker John Boehner recently joined the chorus of notables calling for corporate tax reform in any deficit-reduction package. Both Democrats and Republicans want to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, in return for eliminating the tax credits and deductions available primarily to U.S. corporations.
The rationale behind the proposal is sound in theory — a lower tax rate would help all profitable corporations. By contrast, Congress often bestows tax benefits on industries that are perceived as potential winners or those wielding political clout.