Investment

Investing should be easy – just buy low and sell high – but most of us have trouble following that simple advice. There are principles and strategies that may enable you to put together an investment portfolio that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. Understanding these principles and strategies can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that snare some investors.

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What Smart Investors Know

What Smart Investors Know

Savvy investors take the time to separate emotion from fact.

Emotional vs. Strategic Decisions

Emotional vs. Strategic Decisions

Information vs. instinct. Are your choices based on evidence of emotion?

The Business Cycle

The Business Cycle

How will you weather the ups and downs of the business cycle?

Pullbacks, Corrections, and Bear Markets

When the market experiences volatility, it may be a good time to review these common terms.

Bull & Bear Markets: A Timeline

This helpful infographic will define bull and bear markets, as well as give a historical overview.

Required Reading: The Economic Report of the President

The Economic Report of the President can help identify the forces driving — or dragging — the economy.

A Primer on Dividends

A company's profits can be reinvested or paid out to the company’s shareholders as “dividends."

How Stocks Work

Understanding how a stock works is key to understanding your investments.

The Business Cycle

Understanding the economy's cycles can help put current business conditions in better perspective.

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Student Loan Payoff Calculator: Extra Payments Can Save You

See how extra payments toward your student loans could shorten your payoff timeline.

Student Loan Refinance Calculator

Compare your current student loan terms to a potential refinance to see if it makes sense.

How Can I Save a Million Dollars?

See what it takes in monthly contributions and time to reach a million-dollar savings goal.

Debt vs. Investment

Weigh the potential outcomes of paying off debt versus directing those dollars elsewhere.

What Is the Dividend Yield?

Calculate the dividend yield of a holding and see what that means for income over time.

How Long Will Your Money Last?

See how long a lump sum of savings could last based on your withdrawal rate and return.

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16 Wall Street Cliches in 60 Seconds

Pundits say a lot of things about the markets. Let's see if you can keep up.

Jane Bond: Scaling the Ladder

Agent Jane Bond is on the case, uncovering the mystery of bond laddering.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

All about how missing the best market days (or the worst!) might affect your portfolio.

Bursting the Bubble

Tulips were the first, but they won’t be the last. What forms a “bubble” and what causes them to burst?

Inflation and Your Portfolio

Even low inflation rates can pose a threat to investment returns.

Behavioral Finance

An amusing and whimsical look at behavioral finance best practices for investors.

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