Money Issues Links
Study
"Do professional security analysts tend to exhibit ... behavioral tendencies when choosing to buy, sell, or hold stocks in investment portfolios? Can we accurately infer an analyst's underlying decision-making strategy from his or her pattern of behavioral responses to stock price changes over time? If individual analysts exhibit clearly identifiable styles of decision making based on their reaction to stock price changes, are there other characteristics, such as age, experience, thought processes, performance, or risk propensities that differentiate these investor groups? Do analysts ever believe they can beat the market, and how accurate are their self-assessments? Do they remain committed to their decision-making strategies even in the face of lackluster performance, or do they adapt their strategies over time?"
" ... analysts that they had seven investment options the six pharmaceutical stocks and an interest-bearing cash account (earning 2% per quarter, compounded quarterly). Their task was to create a portfolio for each period consisting of any combination of the investments. They were informed that the winner would be the person who managed to increase the cumulative return on their investment holdings by the greatest amount by the end of the fourth period."
Read Taking Stock of Stockbrokers: Exploring Momentum versus Contrarian Investor Strategies and Profiles from the University of Chicago at the Journal of Consumer Research
Money Links
Estate Planning by Cornell Law — An overview of this site includes: An estate is the total property, real and personal, owned by an individual prior to distribution through a trust or will. Real property is real estate and personal property includes everything else, for example cars, household items, and bank accounts. Estate planning distributes the real and personal property to an individual's heirs. Estate planning is the process by which an individual or family arranges the transfer of assets in anticipation of death. An estate plan aims to preserve the maximum amount of wealth possible for the intended beneficiaries and flexibility for the individual prior to death. A major concern for drafters of estate plans is federal and state tax law.
Financial Engines - Highly recommended by Walter Mossberg (WSJ) this service, co-founded by a Nobel Prize economist, projects the performance of your 401k investments. The service advises which funds within the 401k should be purchased and sold in proportion to meeting goals. Easy to understand, requiring little input except for basic info, the age you hope to retire and retirement income you desire. The projections are free and for $15 a quarter specific advice is available on arranging your 401k holdings. The service takes no ads, sells no products and receives no commissions from the funds it recommends.
Free Edgar - SEC filings allows 10 Ks and 10 Qs to be viewed for information such as the company's balance sheets, cash flow and income statements. The site is searched by a company's filing's type or date.
Hoover's Online - Business news: both original and from other sources, tax forms, investor resources, company of the day paired with research profiles and an overview, stock ticker, free weekly newsletter. Additional information by subscription.
IRA Online Resource Guide — Guide to traditional and Roth IRAs (individual retirement accounts) and IRA-funded plans such as SEPs (simplified employee pension) and payroll-deduction IRAs. Includes forms and publications, and information for individuals, business owners, and tax professionals. The section for individuals links to a humorous guide, "Ten Reasons to Put Off Saving for Retirement"; the ninth tip is "You never know, I may win the lottery." From the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Morningstar.com - Long recognized as being a leader in mutual fund information field for its rating system of funds and another system informing if different funds actually contain the same funds for overlapping sorting. For features such as the screening and asset allocation tool, there is a monthly (or yearly) fee.
SmartMoney.com - The website of the magazine, produced by one of our favorite newspapers, the Wall Street Journal. A 'full-service' media site, it includes news, an investor calendar, trackers, asset allocation tables, forums, columns, questions that can be submitted and a portfolio to track. Tax time articles are available at the site, too.
TreasuryDirect - Instead of paying a broker or other intermediary, you can now "buy Treasury bills, notes, and bonds directly from the government — without brokers, without hassles, and without a mountain of paperwork." At the moment, the government is " suspending issuance of the 30-year bond: there will be no auction of 30-year securities in February 2002 and we plan no further auctions of either 30-year nominal or inflation-adjusted bonds," and they are continuing a buyback program. You can download forms from the site and apply as a customer of Treasury Direct.
Wife.org - The San Diego, CA based Women’s Institute for Financial Education is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial education to women. Investments and Savings, Taxes, Budgets and Planning, Family Issues and Planning for Your Retirement are the areas that the website explores and provides related articles for the reader. The financial fallout from divorce is a well-covered topic and if you live in the area, it's the subject of a workshop.
WISER.org (Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement) - WISER, created in August 1996 by the Heinz Family Philanthropies, endeavors to improve the long-term economic security of millions of American women and men through education. The site has a free pamphlet that can be downloaded (or ordered by mail) entitled Women & Money Resources for Women Planning for Their Financial Security.
WSJ Personal Research and Tools - Their calculators and worksheets can help you plan for saving for college, buying a home or building up a nest egg for retirement. There is a section that poses the question, Should you Refinance your Mortgage? as well as one that keeps up with rates on IRA CDs, money-market and savings accounts. In addition, there is an Asset-allocation worksheet, a net worth calculator and a retirement worksheet.
