William Ehart

Jun 5, 2024 | humbledollar.com | William Ehart |Jonathan Clements

William EhartYOU’VE HEARD OF asset allocation. But how good are you at asset location? On that one, I’d have to give myself a failing grade, but I hope to pass the test someday. I’ve realized I could save myself hundreds of dollars a year in taxes by relocating much of my safe money to tax-advantaged accounts, while being more aggressive with stocks in my taxable account. Those moves would leave me with the same overall stock allocation, so my risk profile wouldn’t be much different.

Dec 27, 2023 | humbledollar.com | William Ehart |Jonathan Clements

William EhartREMEMBER WHEN YOU got that first AARP card in the mail? I must have been 50, not at all ready to begin thinking about senior discounts, and slightly offended. That was 12 years ago. Well, I’m feeling that way again. You see, the grim reaper—oops, I mean retirement—is getting close. That means it’s time to reduce my exposure to stocks, while boosting my holdings of income-oriented investments.

Dec 20, 2023 | humbledollar.com | William Ehart |Jonathan Clements

William EhartI INVEST FOR GROWTH, not income. That will likely change as I get closer to my 2028 planned retirement. For now, I diversify my portfolio mainly with cash and short-term bonds with the goal of stability, not yield. Yet this article is about the yield I receive. Why focus on yield? Some say everyday investors overemphasize the importance of dividends, and maybe that’s true of me.

Oct 12, 2023 | humbledollar.com | William Ehart |Jonathan Clements

William EhartWHAT’S THE BIGGEST threat to your retirement? For young adults, we know a key pitfall is failing to invest in stocks because they’re so afraid of the market’s short-term ups and downs, thus unwittingly risking impoverishment later in life. But for those of us nearing retirement, the market’s ups and downs can start to matter more than stocks’ long-term inflation-beating performance. An ill-timed market crash or a run of bad annual returns could ruin our retirement plans. What to do?

Oct 2, 2023 | humbledollar.com | William Ehart |Jonathan Clements

William EhartDON’T LOOK NOW, but value is beating growth—just not here in the U.S. From May 31 through Sept. 29, iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (symbol: EFV), which invests in developed foreign markets, is up 5.6%, while iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (EFG) is down 6.5%. That brings the year-to-date performance of the two funds to 9.6% for the iShares value fund and 4% for the iShares growth fund. Meanwhile, the style-neutral iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) is up 6.9% in 2023.