Posted: 28 Mar 2010 04:29 AM PDT

It's a no-brainer to open an IRA by April 15 for tax advantages, but after the stock market trauma of the last few years, picking investments for it doesn't seem simple.

"I know I should be saving money for retirement, but I'm scared," said investor Dena Cohen. "I've been told that since I'm in my 30s, I should be in the stock market, but I don't know what to do."

That uncertainty often causes people to skip IRAs. But there are options for everyone, from those opening their first IRA to advanced investors interested in tweaking based on market conditions.

Financial planners have not strayed from their usual advice for people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, despite the more than 50 percent decline in stocks and the subsequent 70 percent upturn.

If you have years to go before you retire, you are likely to make more money in stock funds than in CDs, said financial planner Gary Bowyer. On average, bonds gain 5.5 percent a year, while stocks return 9.4 percent. Although some years are awful, Bowyer said, gains close to the average are likely over 20 or 30 years.

Go with index fund

His advice for people in their 20s: Choose a stock market index fund such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index fund, or a mixture of U.S. and international stocks through a fund such as T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth or Primecap Odyssey Growth. Both are almost entirely in stocks, so if you cannot stomach the full force of a market downturn, use a fund containing some bonds, perhaps the moderately conservative Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth. For people younger than 40 who will not be scared by stock downturns, financial planner Mark Wilson chooses LifeStrategy Growth.

Financial planners want people to have a mixture of stocks and bonds. For someone around 40, it might be about 70 percent in stocks so money grows significantly over time and 30 percent in bonds in case the market tanks.

But what if you have been doing that and wonder whether you would be better off adding stocks or bonds through this year's IRA? Analysts have expressed concerns about both: The possibility that stocks would fall around midyear as the government pulls away from economic-stimulus efforts, or that bonds would decline if interest rates rise.

Most financial planners tell people not to worry about short-term downturns: Saving a little every month in stock and bond funds will work over time. For an IRA, a simple balanced fund such as the Vanguard Balanced Fund would commit about 60 percent to stocks and 40 percent to bonds, Bowyer said.

Alternatives

Still, if you do not want to take a chance investing in stocks just before a possible downturn, Jack Ablin, a strategist with Harris Private Bank, suggests a Seix Floating Bank Rate fund. It invests in bank loans, which would make it vulnerable if the economy worsens and people cannot repay their loans. But if the economy continues to strengthen and rising interest rates threaten bonds, Ablin expects this fund to do well.

It has become popular to look for investments that do not act like stocks or bonds, that make money when both fail you. Bowyer puts 15 percent of his clients' money in such "diversifiers."

His selections: Hussman Strategic Growth, which shorts, or bets against, stocks so investors can make money in downturns; the Merger Fund, which buys stocks in pending acquisitions and makes money if the merger occurs; and the Pimco All Asset All Authority, which can buy stocks, bonds, and commodities and can short stocks.

The Merger Fund lost 2.26 percent in 2008, while the overall stock market lost 38 percent. In 2009, it climbed 8.8 percent, as the market rose more than 23 percent. The Pimco fund lost 6.9 percent in 2008 and gained 19 percent in 2009. And the Hussman fund lost 9 percent in 2008 and gained 5 percent in 2009.

Gail MarksJarvis is a personal finance columnist for the Chicago Tribune. E-mail her at gmarksjarvis@tribune.com.

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Ford to sell Volvo to China's Geely for $1.8 bln - Marketwatch

Posted: 28 Mar 2010 07:43 AM PDT

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Book Personal Finance Tips For You Wins Literary Award ... - PRWeb

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 12:11 AM PDT

Whether struggling to pay credit card bills, paying bills on time, discussing finances before marriage or saving for retirement, there are solutions for almost everyone in Nocita Carter's compact guide Personal Finance Tips For You: Tips You Can Use To Help You With Your Personal Finances.

Temecula, CA (PRWEB) March 23, 2010 -- During this current time of high unemployment and financial insecurity most people are uncertain about their economic future. Nocita Carter provides tips and information to help people learn more about their personal finances in "Personal Finance Tips For You: Tips You Can Use To Help You With Your Personal Finances."

Many people are struggling with debt, the high cost of living, and the fear of either loosing their jobs or are currently unemployed. Nocita Carter provides a path through these obstacles in a personal finance tips book that is geared towards people in many different financial situations. Personal Finance Tips For You: Tips You Can Use To Help You With Your Personal Finances, is not a complicated book to read. In fact, this book is compact, easy to read and a person could take it anywhere.

Among the many tips included in "Personal Finance Tips For You: Tips You Can Use To Help You With Your Personal Finances" are:

Nocita Carter provides many step-by-step tips on what to do in various adverse circumstances that will help to reduce the fear and stress level when it comes to your personal finances. Carter reminds us to be upfront with creditors when laid off so payment plans can be made. She provides advice on comparison shopping on the Internet, and how to review current insurance policies to determine what coverage is needed. There are several innovative ways to save money in this book as well as advice on saving money for retirement. Even people who are financially savvy will find valuable information in "Personal Finance Tips For You: Tips You Can Use To Help You With Your Personal Finances."

Critics are also realizing the priceless tips and information contained in this book that is so valuable to our current economic times. RebeccasReads declares: "If you are one of the millions of Americans that are suffering with financial problems then Nocita Carter's book, "Personal Finance Tips For You," is the answer. "The book is small enough to fit in your pocket, briefcase or purse so you can take it with you to read whenever you have a break." Reader Views states, "Personal Finance Tips For You" by Nocita Carter is a good basic financial book." The Midwest Book Review declares, "Personal Finance Tips For You," is a fine introduction to paying for one's life." Nancy Eaton at Bestsellersworld states, "there are so many good points in this book…purchase it and read it yourself."

"Personal Finance Tips For You: Tips You Can Use To Help You With Your Personal Finances" (ISBN 9780982348505, WebLinks) can be purchased at www.books-from-weblinks.com.

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Business accounts vulnerable to fraud - Tulsa World

Posted: 28 Mar 2010 09:44 AM PDT

Many tax advisers tell their self-employed clients to open separate business bank accounts to make it easier to separate business and personal expenses for tax purposes.

Don't do it.

This common tax advice could turn into a banking nightmare. Just ask Fan Bao of Los Angeles.

Bao, who runs a small import-export business, had $50,000 stolen from his bank account by computer hackers in Croatia. Bank of America has refused to reimburse him, saying the loss is his problem.

Had the money been stolen out of a personal account, federal law would have required the bank to reimburse Bao.

Unbeknown to many, business and personal accounts are governed by completely different rules. And it's far more frightening now because technology and law enforcement experts believe a huge wave is growing of sophisticated criminal enterprises that target small-business bank accounts.

Guardian Analytics recently teamed with the Ponemon Institute to study the prevalence of banking fraud on small businesses. The study found that 32 percent of the 500 small-business owners surveyed had been victimized by online banking fraud, and more than half of that group had been victimized repeatedly.

Bao detailed his experiences in a lawsuit he has filed against BofA.

Bao runs his import-export business with his wife, Cathy Huang. Two years ago, they were talked into opening an online account that allowed them to send wire transfers to their suppliers overseas.

The bank had

them follow a series of security protocols and assured them their money was safe. But, last summer, two fraudulent wire transfers were posted from Bao's account — for $99,100 and $50,000. Both were sent to a bank in Croatia. Bao had never sent money anywhere other than China.

Bank officials recognized that the transfers didn't match Bao's regular pattern and called to verify their authenticity. Huang was the "authorized agent" on the account, according to the lawsuit, but was out of town and couldn't respond immediately to the bank's call. The bank wouldn't tell Bao what the problem was and allowed the transfers.

Huang reached the bank later in the day. By then, BofA could only recover the second transfer, for $99,100.

Bao asked BofA to reimburse him, but the bank refused. The reason: Bao was a business customer, so his account was governed by the Uniform Commercial Code. That essentially allows the bank to lay out the conditions under which clients will — or won't — be reimbursed for a loss.

BofA spokeswoman Shirley Norton said the bank believes Bao's suit was without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself.

What can you do to protect yourself? If you have a very small business, you'd be wise to do your banking through a personal account, where the legal protections are superior.

However, if you have a bigger enterprise that needs sophisticated business banking services, you need to be exceptionally careful when responding to e-mails.

Contact Los Angeles Times staff writer at Personal Finance, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St. 90012, or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com.

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Personal Finance

Sunday, March 28, 2010