1/26/2012 Neil from Narberth, PA: Should I just put my 401k in a Target Date Fund? Friedenthal Financial: Great question! The two primary factors to consider are risk level and cost. While the concept of a Target Date Fund (based on your anticipated retirement date) is appealing, it presumes that everyone…
December 6, 2011 Reid from Redmond, WA: Should I engage several advisors to manage my investments or concentrate with one? Friedenthal Financial: This is a great question with no “right” answer. There are benefits to both methods and ultimately you will need to evaluate your own needs to best choose. Here…
October 26th, 2011 Stanley from Sturgis, SD: What are the risks in owning a fixed income portfolio? Friedenthal Financial: Great question! At a high level, there are 4 major categories of risks in fixed income. Many fixed income instruments (aka “bonds”) bear more than one of these risks, and of varying…
August 24, 2011 Burt, from Boise, ID: Does the government have any other economic stimulus tools besides a third round of Quantitative Easing (QE3)? Friedenthal Financial: It’s a great question, and certainly one with many subjective opinions floating around. Here’s a bit of background and several of the ideas circulating, including…
July 28th, 2011 Oscar from Olympia, WA: What are the implications of the debt ceiling crisis? Friedenthal Financial: There are two main issues surrounding the debt ceiling crisis. First is the issue of potential default (or delayed payment) by the US government on its obligations. Obviously if the government doesn’t have the…
June 23, 2011 Laverne from Lafayette, PA: Can I measure the level of diversification in my portfolio? Friedenthal Financial: That’s an excellent question! While we are not aware of a universally accepted formula for diversification, we can share the methods that we use. First let’s specifically define the task. When…
April 28, 2011 Chuck from Charleston, SC: I went to sell a corporate bond from my portfolio and discovered I couldn’t get anything close to what was marked in my account. Why is this? Friedenthal Financial: There are a few reasons. First, be sure that you are looking at a current…
March 24, 2011 Lauren, from Lambertville, NJ: Why does my portfolio drop in value about a week before large dividends are paid? Friedenthal Financial: When a stock pays a dividend, there are three important dates to know. The “declaration date” is simply the date they disclose the next dividend to be…
February 28, 2011 Frank from Frederick, MD: What’s the difference between Term Life insurance and Whole Life insurance? Which should I choose? Friedenthal Financial: This is a very common question. Please keep in mind that we are not insurance agents. As usual, we’ll try to take a crack at answering the question…
January 25th, 2011 Rachel from Roxborough, PA: How should I select an ETF for my portfolio? Friedenthal Financial: Rachel, Good question! ETFs can be wonderful instruments for your portfolio, but not all of them are created equally! As always, we recommend considering your entire portfolio goals, risk tolerance, and exposure…