The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan E-Book

Larry E. Swedroe

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Seitenzahl: 313

Beschreibung

An accessible guide that outlines the key elements of an effective financial plan From Larry Swedroe, the author of the bestselling series of "The Only Guide" investment books, with Kevin Grogan and Tiya Lim comes a step-by-step handbook that shows you how to develop a winning personal investment strategy and reveals what it takes to make that strategy part of your overall financial plan. The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan focuses on the "art" of investing and gives you the information you need to create a strategy that is tailor-made for your particular situation. Designed for savvy investors and professional advisors, this book offers the vital information needed for developing and implementing an overall strategic financial plan. In this essential resource, Swedroe outlines the basics in asset allocation and other investment planning concepts. * Addresses how you can design an investment policy statement and an individual asset allocation plan * Examines how to maintain your portfolio's risk profile in the most cost-effective and tax-efficient manner * Offers insights on integrating risk management and estate planning issues into your plan The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan offers a handy tool to help you make more informed and prudent decisions that will go a long way to ensure a secure financial future.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

How to Use this Book

Acknowledgments

PART I - INVESTMENT STRATEGY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD

CHAPTER 1 - The Uncertainty of Investing

Efficient Frontier Models

CHAPTER 2 - The Investment Policy Statement

The Foundation of the Investment Plan

PART II - ASSET ALLOCATION

CHAPTER 3 - Asset Allocation

The Ability, Willingness, and Need to Take Risk

When Conflicts Arise

Risk Factors

CHAPTER 4 - Equities

Equities versus Fixed Income

U.S. Equity versus International Equity

Emerging Markets

Value versus Growth

Real Estate

Your Home

Collateralized Commodity Futures (CCF)

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)

CHAPTER 5 - Fixed Income

Credit Quality

Short-Term versus Long-Term Maturities

Municipal Bonds

Inflation-Protected Securities

Short-Term Fixed Income versus TIPS

CHAPTER 6 - Alternative Investments

Convertible Bonds: Not Recommended

Covered Calls: Not Recommended

Fixed-Income Currency Exposure: Generally Not Recommended

EE Bonds: Recommended

Emerging Market Bonds: Not Recommended

Equity-Indexed Annuities (EIAs): Not Recommended

Gold: Not Recommended

Hedge Funds: Not Recommended

High-Yield (Junk) Bonds: Not Recommended

Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs): Not Recommended

Leveraged Funds: Not Recommended

Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs): Not Recommended

Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS): Not Recommended

Precious Metals Equities (PME): Not Recommended

Preferred Stocks: Not Recommended

Private Equity (Venture Capital): Not Recommended

Stable-Value Funds: Generally Not Recommended

Structured Investment Products: Not Recommended

Variable Annuities: Not Recommended

CHAPTER 7 - Liabilities and Asset Allocation

Mortgages

Prepay the Mortgage or Increase Tax-Advantaged Savings?

Other Liabilities

PART III - IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN

CHAPTER 8 - Individual Securities or Mutual Funds

Convenience

Diversification

Size Matters

Advantages of Individual Securities

Separate Account Managers

A Word of Caution

Summary

CHAPTER 9 - Active versus Passive Management

The Evidence

The Search for the Holy Grail: Why Is Persistent Outperformance So Hard to Find?

The Value of Economic Forecasts

The Value of Security Analysis

Buy, Sell, or Hold?

The Tyrannical Nature of an Efficient Market

The Prudent Investor Rule

The Benefits of Passive Investing

Summary

CHAPTER 10 - The Asset Location Decision

Exceptions

Order of Preference

Additional Considerations

Advanced Concept

Balanced and Lifestyle Funds

CHAPTER 11 - The Care and Maintenance of the Portfolio

Rebalancing

Tax Management Strategies

Final Considerations

PART IV - THE INVESTMENT PLAN AND FINANCIAL SECURITY

CHAPTER 12 - College Savings Plans

529 Plans

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts

Custodial Accounts

U.S. Savings Bonds

Financial Aid Impact

CHAPTER 13 - Insurance

Risk Management

Payout Annuities

Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI)

Life Settlements

CHAPTER 14 - IRAs and Retirement/Profit Sharing Plans

Roth versus Traditional IRA

Five Key Facts

What to Do When Retirement Plan Choices Are Poor

IRA Conversions

CHAPTER 15 - Social Security

How Benefits are Determined

When to Take Benefits

Factors to Consider

Taking Benefits Early

Delaying Benefits

Taxes

Is Social Security a Balance-Sheet Asset?

File and Suspend Strategy

Double Dipping Strategy

Summary

CHAPTER 16 - Determining a Safe Withdrawal Rate

Monte Carlo (MC) Simulations

In the Absence of an MC Simulator

The Sequencing of Withdrawals to Fund Retirement

CHAPTER 17 - Planning Beyond Your Lifetime

Estate Planning

Preparing Your Heirs

Conclusion

APPENDIX A - Effective Diversification in a Three-Factor World

APPENDIX B - Dollar Cost Averaging

APPENDIX C - Reverse Mortgages

APPENDIX D - How to Choose an Adviser You Can Trust

Notes

Glossary

Index

Additional Praise forThe Only Guide You’ll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan

“Larry Swedroe has given us an experienced and research-based treatment with examples of what should enter into the design and implementation of an investment strategy. The book includes a wide range of alternative investments and savings related plans that should prove to be beneficial to individuals and to their financial advisors.”

—John A. Haslem, Professor Emeritus of Finance, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland Mutual funds researcher and author of Mutual Funds

“The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan may be the best collection of advice on key issues such as when to begin Social Security benefits and how to tax efficiently manage your money during your accumulation and withdrawal phases of life.

—Dr. William Reichenstein, CFA, Pat and Thomas R. Powers Chair in Investment Management, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University

“As Larry makes abundantly clear, wise investing is wise only in the context of one’s own unique personal financial situation. If you are an investor who has not considered how your investments fit into your life, you need this book.”

—Edward R. Wolfe, Ph.D., Professor of Finance, Western Kentucky University

“Larry Swedroe has hit yet another home run with his ninth and newest book.”

—W. Scott Simon, J.D., CFP®, AIFA®, Author, The Prudent Investor Act:A Guide to Understanding, Columnist, Morningstar’s Fiduciary Focus

Copyright © 2010 by Larry Swedroe, Kevin Grogan, and Tiya Lim. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Swedroe, Larry E.

The only guide you’ll ever need for the right financial plan : managing your wealth, risk, and investments / Larry Swedroe, Kevin Grogan, Tiya Lim.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-57660-366-6 (cloth); 978-0-470-87885-9 (ebk)

1. Portfolio management. 2. Investment analysis. 3. Risk management.

4. Investments. 5. Finance, Personal. I. Grogan, Kevin. II. Lim, Tiya. III. Title. HG4529.5.S.6--dc22 2010014479

This book is dedicated to the employees of the Buckingham Family of Financial Services and the advisers at the more than one hundred independent, fee-only registered investment adviser (RIA) firms with which we at Buckingham have strategic alliances. Each and every one of them works diligently to educate investors on how markets really work, building long-term relationships by doing the right thing.

Preface

Each of the prior eight books I have written reflects what I have learned in my almost forty years of managing financial risks for major corporations and advising individuals, institutions, and corporations on the management of financial risks.

Included among my books is the trilogy of “Only Guides.” The first focuses on equities, the second on bonds, and the third on alternative investments. Each presents what one might call the “science” of investing: evidence based on peer-reviewed academic studies. The “Only Guides” explore the best investment vehicles to use, the risks and rewards of major asset classes, specific types of investments, and the benefits of a globally diversified portfolio. The books even present model portfolios, but these are meant as starting points only. Each investor has a unique ability, willingness, and need to take risk.

What investors need today is a book offering more specific investment advice, one focusing on the “art” of investing and guiding investors to adapt a winning investment strategy to their own situation. That is what this book is all about.

This “Only Guide” addresses a wide range of investment issues. For example, who should consider owning more small-cap stocks, value stocks, and emerging market stocks, and who should consider owning less of them? It also addresses the often-overlooked subjects of asset location (as opposed to allocation), withdrawal strategies in retirement, and when and how to take Social Security benefits. Most importantly, it will help you integrate other financial issues into an overall financial plan. Having a well-thought-out investment plan is a necessary condition for success, not a sufficient one. The sufficient condition is integrating the investment plan into a well-thought-out estate, tax, and risk management plan. As we demonstrate in Part IV, even the best investment plans can fail if these other issues are not adequately addressed.

The goal of this book is to help both investors and professional advisers make better, more informed decisions in order to practice the winning investment strategy. Thus, the book is designed to help you understand the fundamental concepts of asset allocation, asset location, and other investing and general financial planning concepts. After reading this book, you will have learned how to:

• design an investment policy statement (IPS) and asset allocation plan, one most appropriate to your unique situation

• locate assets in the most tax-efficient manner

• maintain the portfolio’s risk profile in the most efficient manner

• provide effective tax management

• integrate risk management and estate planning issues into the plan

While written to be accessible, this is not a “dummies” book. The assumption is that you know some basics about stocks and bonds.

How to Use this Book

This book can be used in two ways: read cover to cover or searched for topics of interest, providing quick access to information to answer specific questions that may arise and as circumstances change. Thus, it can serve as a reference manual. Most topics are broad based. You will find a brief discussion of a subject and perhaps a reference to an appendix or one of my other books containing a more detailed discussion of the subject.

Because investing is more art than science, this guide is not meant to provide hard-and-fast rules. While a physicist can measure the speed of light to the fourth decimal place with minimal estimation error, even the most fervent finance professor knows that such precision is impossible in investment theory. Investors and advisers alike must accept that they will never know, ex-ante, the optimal allocation to international investments or how much an investor’s portfolio should tilt toward value stocks or small-cap stocks. In most cases, all they can be sure of is that they are in the ballpark. This book is a tool to help you make prudent decisions, remembering prudence is determined not by the outcome, but by the process. Therefore, this book:

• raises questions leading you to the best answer given a particular situation

• helps identify issues that should be considered

• gives direction so you can best use your own judgment and apply it to each unique situation

As a final resource, the book contains an extensive glossary of terms.

LARRY SWEDROE

Acknowledgments

Books are seldom the work of one person, or in this case three people. Ours represents the collective wisdom of the investment professionals at the Buckingham Family of Financial Services.

For all their support and encouragement we would like to thank the principals of our firm: Adam Birenbaum, Ernest Clark, Susan Shackelford-Davis, Steve Funk, Bob Gellman, Ed Goldberg, Ken Katzif, Mont Levy, Steve Lourie, Vladimir Masek, Bert Schweizer III, Brenda Witt, and Stuart Zimmerman.

Too many of our co-workers contributed to list them all. But we would be remiss if we did not mention the special efforts and contributions of RC Balaban, Jim Cornfield, David Ressner, John Corn (who made major contributions to the sections on retirement plans and college savings plans) and Aaron Vickar (who made major contributions to the chapter on insurance). Jared Kizer, the coauthor of The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You’ll Ever Need, also made important contributions. The usual caveat of any errors being our own certainly applies.

We also thank our agent, Sam Fleischman, for all his efforts.

Kevin adds: My wife, Julie, makes every day a joy. I thank her for her love and patience. I thank my parents and my brother, who have always supported me and had my best interests in mind. I owe an enormous debt to all the kind people (especially Jared Kizer and Vladimir Masek) who have taken the time to teach me what I know about investment theory.

Tiya adds: Thank you to my parents, Chak and Mira. You have supported my decisions all along the way.

I especially thank my wife, Mona, the love of my life, for her tremendous encouragement and understanding during the lost weekends and many nights I sat at the computer well into the early morning hours. She has always provided whatever support was needed. And then some. Walking through life with her has truly been a gracious experience.

LARRY SWEDROE

PART I

INVESTMENT STRATEGY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD

CHAPTER 1

The Uncertainty of Investing

When there’s uncertainty, they always think there’s another shoe to fall. There is no other shoe to fall.

—Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron

Investing deals with both risk and uncertainty. In 1921, University of Chicago professor Frank Knight wrote (he is not the publisher) the classic book , , . An article from the Library of Economics and Liberty described Knight’s definitions of risk and uncertainty as follows: “Risk is present when future events occur with measurable probability. Uncertainty is present when the likelihood of future events is indefinite or incalculable.”