Hank Coleman
Mutual funds gained popularity among the investing public in the 1980s and 1990s. They began as a way for large institutional investors to pool their money for a common purpose, and spread the risk of losses, inside a mutually owned fund, hence the name mutual fund. Now, mutual funds are a staple of most everyday Americans’ nest eggs and is considered a good way to diversify your retirement plan.
What you may not be aware of is that there are in fact various types of mutual funds. The two main ones are open-end and closed-end. Understanding the differences between them can help you broaden and strengthen your investment portfolio asset allocation based on your investment risk tolerance.
You bought some stock on a whim a few years go. Maybe it was doing great for a while, or maybe it has been yo-yoing. Maybe you are so sick of looking at the stock that you think it is time to sell.
Now that the economy is continuing its recovery, share buyback programs are quickly becoming all the rage once again with companies and investors. When a company has excess cash at the end of the day, there are only a few things that it can do with it. They can save it for a rainy day, invest in new property and equipment for the business, acquire another company, retire debt, issue a 
Most people now understand what a mutual fund is. Mutual funds combine shareholders’ money in a common pool to buy shares of stock in publicly traded companies. 
Many companies in the S&P 500 index are flush with cash as they economy starts to make a comeback and retail customers return to stores. In fact, the S&P 500 companies have over $800 billion in cash and cash equivalents on their books, and the number continues to grow as companies focus on cost-cutting measures, free cash flow, and protecting themselves from more market turmoil. There is so much cash on the balance sheets of companies that many financial analysts think that investors may see a resurgence of special one-time dividends. But, investors should beware of companies issuing these special dividends. While they may sound great in theory, they may not be the greatest thing for investors. 
Statistics have shown that people are living longer than they ever have. While this is generally viewed as a very positive thing, longer lives can also mean many expensive years that need to be paid for late in someone’s life. Instead of allowing your nest egg and assets to be eaten up by healthcare costs (which drastically rise with age), you need to be prepared, especially if you don’t want to pawn off these expenses on their children. This is where long term insurance comes into play, which is one of the 
Retirees are eligible to accept Social Security withdrawals as early as age 62 instead of having to wait until the full retirement age of 67, but you will receive a reduced benefit every month. So, should you accept the reduced befit that goes along with an early retirement? There are a lot of factors that have to be considered in your own personal decision to take the 
As you’ll see in any 