In addition to our core beliefs, our strategies for investing for retirement are based on research and analysis of current indicators of economic conditions and likely future outcomes.

• retirement investment management
• retirement planning
• financial advisors & services
• modern portfolio theory (MPT)
• position trading
• taxes – federal, state & local

This is the “big picture” – everything in the roadmap, the asset classes portfolios and the trading activities represent the tactics to achieve these strategic objectives.

Retirement Investment Management

Investing retirement capital in the “distribution” phase – taking money out of investments to cover living expenses and other purchases, is fundamentally different from “accumulation” investing where the objective is to save (and grow) money for future use.

• the timing of the withdrawals may be “bad” – When there has been significant drawdown in the market, any money “removed” will seriously impact the long term prospects for entire investment portfolio.
• investment opportunities come and go. It is imperative to have decision points for exiting as well as entering investment positions. This is position trading.
• all investments should be examined frequently . Just putting money into an investment and leaving, it is ill-advised.

Through the blog we report information and analysis as well as the actual trades we are making to execute this strategy.

Retirement Planning

Figuring out realistic future financial needs must be based on more complex calculations than the simplistic “market trends will continue to go up just the way they have for the past xx years.” We have lived through a remarkable aberration in financial history. Predicting the future is hard, but assuming that the good times will last for the duration of Boomers’ retirement is risky, at best.

• How much do you have now?
• How much do you really need?
• When will you need it?
• How much is enough?

All the calculators that we have looked at are based on projecting historical returns into the future. Given current valuations, it seems unlikely that we will see the same returns in the next 10 to 20 years. (See John Hussman’s work, The Likely Range of Market Returns in the Coming Decade.). The conservative strategy is to spend no more than you make from your investments every year, after allowing for inflation.

Making the most of current investments is the objective. Protecting capital is essential. Only then, will increasing the value be considered.

Financial Advisors & Services

It is a tough job but someone has to do it. Learning and participating in retirement investment management is not difficult. We made all this money during our working lives. Now it is worth spending the time and energy to make our money work for us.

• having a good understanding of money management is essential. There are lots of courses and books on the subject. see Learn more…
• actively participating in tracking investments and their performance is key to understanding how investment as behaving
• formulating a plan for retirement investment management is ongoing. The world changes and regular re-assessment of positions and strategies is necessary
• financial advisors are just that – advisors. It’s my money and I am the ultimate decision maker.
• everyone has their own need for sources of information and advice. Finding knowledgeable, trustworthy advisors is key to making sound financial decisions. In any event, having several different sources of information is useful when considering diverse perspectives and raising awareness of multiple possibilities.

We rely on many sources of information. News and information, commentary and analysis, timing services. Some are free. Some are subscriptions. We have researched and evaluated these over many years. We value the opinions of others that correspond to our own, somewhat contrarian view as well as those who make good logical cases for alterne views and even radical thinking on the subject of the economy, finance and retirement investing.

Position Trading

Although “buy and hold” may be appropriate for some investments some of the time, position trading provides opporunities to capitalize on changes in market conditions – both “good” and “bad.” Timing changes in investment holdings to changing conditions can yield significant returns, even if the behaviour of the underlying relative standard is loosing money.

• it is possible, even desirable to sell, then buy. Buying an investment, then selling it at some time in the future at a profit is usual. But there has to be something sold to correspond with everything being bought. Financial markets depend on this being efficient, so transactions can be completed in all situations. To facilitate these transaction, there are mechanisms for selling “short” without actually having the asset to sell at that moment.
• having an exit strategy – a pre-determined plan for terminating an investment, is key. Why was this investment made? What is the expected behaviour? What is an appropriate return? How much draw down is acceptable? What is the risk / reward expectation? What conditions trigger a decision to get out – good OR bad.
• position or money management determines that size of the investment. Expected return, portfoilio asset class, quality of the investment, risk/reward contribute to investment size determination.

Our strategy is to trade invest positions as appropriate to maximize absolute return and protect capital. We hear about “tips” to buy an investment, but rarely do we hear about the tipster advising others to sell. A tip without an exist strategy is not doing you a favor.

Taxes – Federal, State & Local

Death and taxes are unavoidable. Optimizing investments may include considering the taxation implications.

• be aware that investments in retirement savings accounts have distribution requirements. Money must be taken from these accounts by predetermined dates relative to the account holders age
• consult your tax specialist for further information

There is nothing so frustrating as having the governement taking more than the absolute minimum from your hard earned money.