- Systematic Risk vs. Unsystematic Risk
Investing means taking a certain amount of risk in order to achieve your financial goals. There are distinct categories and types of risk investors contend with, including systematic and unsystematic risk. Systematic risk is driven by external factors, while unsystematic… read more…
- How to Buy More than $10,000 in I Bonds Annually With This Loophole
In a world where the stock market is unpredictable and interest rates are rising, many investors are looking for someplace to put their money that is as close to risk-free as possible — even if it means forgoing the chance… read more…
- Fidelity vs. M1 Finance
Fidelity and M1 Finance are two very different services that both offer online brokerage opportunities. With Fidelity, investors get a traditional, full-service trading platform. This is an online brokerage that allows you to execute your own trades, and which supports… read more…
- Fidelity vs. Wealthfront: Fees, Services and More
Fidelity and Wealthfront offer significantly different approaches to investing. With Fidelity, users get a traditional online trading platform that allows them to execute their own trades and access financial advisors for an additional fee. With Wealthfront, users get a robo-advisory… read more…
- Reinvestment Rate Risk: Definition and Strategies
Reinvestment rate risk is the chance that an investment will produce lower than expected income due to a future drop in interest rates. This risk is most closely associated with fixed-income investments, especially callable bonds. Shorter-term bonds also tend to… read more…
- Political Risk: Investment Guide
Investing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every company depends on the law, government and infrastructure of the society around it. Every financial asset depends on market-making and regulation. How the law works, or doesn’t work, can define how well an economy’s… read more…
- Guide to Biblically Responsible Investing
Religion is very important to a lot of people, though attendance at religions institutions has certainly fallen in recent decades. Fully 49% of Americans said that religion was a “very important” part of their lives in a 2021 poll from… read more…
- Investing vs. Gambling: What You Need to Know
Investing in the stock market comes with inherent risks. In fact, one could equate investing to gambling because of the up-and-down nature of the market as a whole. However, this isn’t quite as true as it may seem. While there… read more…
- What Is Value Averaging in Investing?
Value averaging is an investment strategy that advocates adjusting how much you put into the market each month based on your specific goals and how your portfolio is performing. That type of approach is a departure from dollar cost averaging,… read more…
- What Is Private Credit?
Savvy investors are always looking for ways to diversify and strengthen their portfolios. However, finding profitable investments can be particularly challenging when the economy experiences inflation and recession-like conditions. Fortunately, private credit has emerged as a high-yield investment in the last decade.… read more…
- 401(k) vs. Savings Account
When saving for retirement, deciding where to keep your money is just as important as figuring out how much to set aside. Depending on where you work, your options might include a 401(k) plan. You could also stash retirement funds… read more…
- How to Beat the Market
Beating the market by getting a better return on your investments than the overall market is difficult. However, some investors and investment companies make it their business to beat the market over time. Market-beating investors follow a variety of strategies.… read more…
- When to Sell Stocks: Investment Guide
The stock market can be volatile, creating ups and downs that can be impossible to predict. Knowing when to sell stocks can make a big difference in your long-term investment portfolio whether you’re only investing long-term or if you’re looking… read more…
- Disinflation vs. Deflation: Key Differences
Consumer prices for goods and services can often be a good indicator of what’s happening in an economy. Deflation and disinflation are two terms that some people mix up at times but mean very different things with regard to price… read more…
- 21 Investment Terms You Need to Know
The investing field has its own language that includes hundreds of specialized terms. Additional ones are being invented all the time to describe product innovations and new concepts. The study of investment terms is one that can last for as… read more…
- Understanding Risk-Free Assets: Guide
When the market fluctuates, some investors get scared and want to eliminate risk from their portfolios. Risk-free assets provide a safe harbor against market volatility, but that safety comes at a cost. These investments tend to have low rates of… read more…
- Risk-On vs. Risk-Off: Investment Guide
Risk-on and risk-off are descriptive terms referring to changes in the attitude and approach investors take toward risk during different economic scenarios. When investors are risk-on, they tend to put more money into riskier investments, such as stocks. When investors… read more…
- CDs vs. Mutual Funds: Key Differences
Investing is risky, especially amidst international strife and a volatile economy. However, it is possible to mitigate risk while preserving certain levels of return. For example, certificates of deposit (CDs) are low-yield accounts that provide a guaranteed interest rate over… read more…
- Private Equity vs. Investment Banking
Private equity and investment banking both help businesses find, develop and grow capital, but each does it in a different way. A private equity firm buys assets itself, looking to grow those assets and profit off of each down the line when they are sold. An investment bank primarily sells assets for another party. While… read more…
- What Are Technical Indicators?
Technical indicators are the data points that show how an asset’s price has changed over time. They can reflect everything from straightforward information, such as a simple average or highs and lows, to complex market-wide analysis of how investors have traded the asset. Technical indicators are particularly useful for analyzing patterns. Investors can use information… read more…
- CDs vs. Stocks Comparison
You might occasionally hear the word “savings” in reference to investments, but there are important differences between the two. For instance, certificates of deposit (CDs) are a type of savings account, while stocks are an investment. CDs provide a sense of stability to your portfolio while stocks might provide a better return. Choosing the right… read more…
- Robo Advisors vs. Index Funds
While most people understand that investing for retirement is a good idea, the way to get started can be unclear. Two investment tools investors may start out with include robo-advisors and index funds. Investors can utilize either of these without… read more…
- When and How to Buy the Dip
Buying the dip reflects Warren Buffet’s famed investing advice to sell when others are buying and buy when they sell. In this case, when everyone else is selling their stocks, prices will dip. You can take that as an opportunity to buy those assets while they’re undervalued. As far as general investment advice goes, this… read more…
- Forex vs. Crypto: Key Differences
Foreign currency and cryptocurrency may sound like similar, even overlapping, asset classes to many investors. They could be forgiven for thinking that non-U.S. currencies and Bitcoin share the same rules and should occupy the same part of your financial planning. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, cryptocurrency and foreign currency share little more than… read more…
- Defensive Stocks: What They Are and Why They Matter
In uncertain economic times, many investors shift their portfolios to a defensive posture. These moves help to preserve capital and buy stocks that perform better in a recessionary environment. Understanding what defensive stocks are and what industries they fall into can help you make smarter investment decisions. You can also work with a financial advisor… read more…