“The Future of Personal Finance - Barron's Online” plus 3 more

The Future of Personal Finance - Barron's Online
The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories - Investors Business Daily
U.S. stock market to be steered by earnings - Marketwatch
The Ric Edelman Show - 630 WMAL

The Future of Personal Finance - Barron's Online

Posted: 10 Apr 2010 04:28 AM PDT

ANDREW LO SUBSCRIBES TO THE ADAGE that you should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. The professor, who runs MIT's Laboratory for Financial Engineering and manages advisor AlphaSimplex Group, is a respected architect of quantitative portfolio models that seek returns by avoiding the kinds of risks that, he believes, are bound to increase over time.

Lo has teamed with alternative-fund distributor Natixis Global Associates to create a new kind of passive mutual-fund vehicle to bring hedge-fund strategies to retail portfolios as small as $2,500. Natixis ASG Global Alternatives A (ticker: GAFAX) and Natixis ASG Diversifying Strategies A ...

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The week's 10 best Personal Finance stories - Investors Business Daily

Posted: 10 Apr 2010 04:57 AM PDT

In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of April 5-9:

Avoid these Roth conversion mistakes

While most of the some four in 10 U.S. households who own an IRA don't plan to convert those accounts to Roth IRAs this year, tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, are deciding to take the conversion step -- and many are making some astonishing mistakes that experts say could be avoided easily.See Robert Powell.

Credits can bring you money at tax time

More than 48 million Americans took advantage of tax credits in 2007 worth over $63 billion, according to a recent IRS report. Are you taking advantage of all the credits available to you?See TaxWatch.

Need a job? Your church might be able to help

In the current economy many people are turning to churches, temples, mosques and other religious communities to ask for help in finding a job. Religious leaders are responding with networking events and job-search advice.See story on how religious communities are helping people find jobs.

Older workers likely to benefit as job market recovers

While older workers face job-market hurdles that their younger cohorts don't, those gray-haired workers may have an edge going forward as the national labor market slowly recovers.See story on older workers to benefit as job market recovers.

No need to move your money if interest rates rise

With many investors now convinced that a rate hike is in the offing, it makes sense to consider what changes, if any, you should make to your portfolio. Truth is, one rate hike -- if and when it happens -- is a headline event, not something that demands an immediate reaction. See Chuck Jaffe.

Plenty of headwinds to slow consumer spending

Consumers certainly appear to be on a mad shopping spree, but it may be a bit too early to pop the champagne.See story on headwinds to slow consumer spending.

Some fund managers put stock in a company's top executives

For some mutual-fund managers, investment research begins in the corner office. Believing that the quality of a firm's top leaders says a lot about the quality of the firm itself, they make it their business to get personally acquainted with the executives running the companies in which their funds are invested or might invest.See Jonathan Burton's Life Savings.

Recovering lost home equity will take years

Question: With all the talk about negative equity, the next logical question is: "How long will this last?" Answer: I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I assume what you're getting at is: How long will it take for home buyers to become even again?See Realty Q&A.

Hedging your bets with a flexible spending account

Will it take a new ceiling on flexible spending accounts to encourage people who have them to reap their benefits more completely? In 2013, the new health-reform law will limit the amount you can sock away in a flexible spending account (FSA) for health expenses to $2,500 a year, with annual increases reflecting cost-of-living adjustments.See Vital Signs.

Three questions to ask of a top-performing fund

Investors should understand what makes some funds shoot to the top of their peer group over a one-year stretch, and why some of those 12-month numbers are particularly misleading and dangerous.See Chuck Jaffe.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

U.S. stock market to be steered by earnings - Marketwatch

Posted: 10 Apr 2010 08:53 AM PDT

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By MarketWatch

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE

The U.S. stock market's slow but steady rise could be vindicated and stoked further in the week ahead, as corporate heavyweights from Alcoa to Intel weigh in with first-quarter earnings results. See full story.

Five ways to play the China market now

Investors are looking to China for policy moves that might slow the country's lopsided export-driven growth engine. But even if the government does raise the value of the yuan, its currency, an array of potential growth drivers should be on international investors' radar, market strategists say. See full story.

Former Fannie exec surprised by extent of crisis

Facing a barrage of questions about problems with Fannie Mae during the buildup to the financial crisis, two former housing officials say the mortgage giant was engulfed by an unprecedented decline in home prices. See full story.

Top U.S. banks reportedly masked risk levels

Major U.S. banks masked the level of risk they took over the last five quarters by lowering their debt levels just before reporting the figures publicly, The Wall Street Journal reports Friday. See full story.

Masking risk is another betrayal of trust

If Wall Street banks have a shred of credibility left, then Friday's report in the Wall Street Journal outlining how banks manage their books to make them look less leveraged is the final blow. See full story.

MARKETWATCH COMMENTARY

Since 2004, eBay Inc. has been fighting accusations of infringing upon and diluting the trademarks of several luxury goods makers by negligently allowing the sale of counterfeit goods on its global auction site. One of those cases was dealt a major blow last week, writes Therese Poletti. See full story.

MARKETWATCH PERSONAL FINANCE

When it comes to saving for retirement and building a portfolio to last a lifetime, most Americans are way behind the eight-ball, the nine-ball and all the other balls on the pool table. See full story.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

The Ric Edelman Show - 630 WMAL

Posted: 10 Apr 2010 06:23 AM PDT

The Ric Edelman Show

Saturday: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Ric Edelman is the #1 Independent Financial Advisor in the nation, as ranked by Barrons. For over 20 years Ric has shared his personal finance advice and is heard by millions of radio listeners around the country.

Each week, Ric answers your questions to help you on the path toward achieving your financial goals. Learn what you need to do to retire in comfort; how to pay for college; why most people should never pay off their mortgage; how to get out of debt; when to lease a car; how to determine if you have the right insurance; choosing a financial advisor; understanding wills, trusts and estate planning; and, of course, the steps needed to help become a successful investor with low risks, low costs and using a competitive strategy.

Ric is a #1 New York Times best-selling author of seven books on personal finance, including Rescue Your Money, The Lies About Money; Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth; and the personal finance classic The Truth About Money. He is also a frequent television guest, noted public speaker, publisher of Inside Personal Finance, a 16-page monthly newsletter, and founder and chairman of Edelman Financial Services LLC.

One of the most highly acclaimed financial advisors in the country, Ric was inducted into Research Magazines Financial Advisor Hall of Fame in 2004. Ric and his firm have won more than 70 financial, business, community and philanthropic awards, and Edelman Financial manages more than $4.5 billion for nearly 14,000 families nationwide through 12 offices in four states.

For nine years, Ric taught personal finance at Georgetown University. His commitment to teaching consumers about personal finance, along with his wit and humor, has established him as one of the most informative and entertaining financial professionals in America.

For more of Rics advice, visit RicEdelman.com

Join Ric Edelman every Saturday from 10am-12n on 630 WMAL.