Chapter 29. Asset allocation and laddering annuities

 

“He who hesitates is poor.”

 
 --Mel Brooks

Asset allocation is an important part of investing. People are living longer now, and the old portfolio of fixed income securities such as CDs or bonds, with which many elderly investors were comfortable, just won’t provide the growth necessary for many people to live comfortably. They need the potential for growth that comes with stock ownership. But stock ownership comes with risk. The value of stocks can go down, sometimes tremendously. So, how do you determine just how much of your portfolio should be in stocks and how much should be in more conservative fixed income investments?

A number of rules of thumb are used to determine the optimum division ...

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