Investment Strategy

Next week, President-elect Obama will become President Obama. Like people across the country, you will no doubt be greatly interested in how his actions will affect a wide variety of domestic and foreign-policy issues. But from a personal point of view, you may also be thinking about what an Obama Administration will mean for your investment strategy. In reality, the actions of any administration generally have only a limited impact on the financial markets. In our complex, interconnected world, a variety of factors - from actions of the Federal Reserve to corporate profits to oil prices to political instability abroad - all play a key role in determining the fortunes of the stock and bond markets.

It’s spring — time to clean out the gutters, tune up the lawnmower and wash down the windows. But as you attend to these types of tasks around your home, why not take the time to do some financial “spring cleaning” as well? Specifically, consider these moves: — “Dust off” your investment strategy. If there’s an area in your home that you haven’t looked at for a while, you may need to dust it off in preparation for the new season.

June is a popular month for weddings. If you're getting married this month, you have a lot to think about, but after the wedding - well, you'll have even more to think about. And one of those topics should be your investment strategy. In these days of economic uncertainty, it's important that you and your spouse make investment decisions today that will help you reach your long-term goals. Of course, the investment process can seem confusing to just one person, so you might think it will be twice as difficult for the two of you. But that's not necessarily so. You can launch an investment strategy that can serve you well throughout your lives together by following these few basic steps: Identify your goals When you start out, you may have short-term goals, such as saving enough for a down payment on a house.

When you're working, you have a financial strategy that is largely based on one goal: saving money for a comfortable retirement. You'll likely have to make many adjustments over several decades to ensure that you stay on track saving and investing. But once you retire, a new goal arises - investing so you can remain retired. To help yourself achieve this goal, you will need to make a number of investment decisions. Which of these decisions are most important? Here are five to consider: How much will you spend each year?

It's graduation time at colleges across the country. If you have children graduating from college, you're probably excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for them. But once your last child leaves home, and you become an "empty nester," you also may find some good opportunities for yourself to improve your financial situation. In fact, your empty nest may help you make progress toward what are likely some key financial goals at this stage of your life: Getting rid of debt and accelerating your savings for retirement.

Like many people, you may make some New Year's resolutions. Perhaps you've promised yourself that you'll visit the gym more often or learn a new language or reconnect with a long-lost friend. All of these are worthy goals, of course, and if you achieve them, you may add new dimensions to your life. But if you want to accomplish other major milestones you may have envisioned ? a new home, college for your kids, a comfortable retirement and so on ? you may need to set some New Year's financial resolutions.

We love lists. We want to know the 10 best pizza places in town and the 10 worst dressed celebrities at the Oscars. We long to find the top 10 movies of the year and the 10 most popular songs of the century. We want to know about the richest people in the country and the cheapest brunches in our city. In short, the list of lists could go on for a long time, but there's always room for one more. So, let's look at the top five reasons to invest. Here they are, in no particular order of importance: 1. Investing can help you enjoy a comfortable retirement.

If you look for reasons not to invest right now, you could find them - global unrest, high gas prices and so on. Yet, if you wait until things settle down before investing, you'll have difficulty achieving your financial goals, because there will always be some external events that could keep you out of the market if you let them. But the smartest investors look beyond today's headlines - and when tomorrow arrives, they are often rewarded for their patience and perseverance. Want proof?

Just a few years ago, economists were talking about the possible re-emergence of an economic phenomenon not seen in many decades: deflation, or declining prices of goods and services. Recently, however, inflation has risen from extremely low levels, driven largely by increased energy and grocery prices. As a consumer, you might fight the effects of inflation by driving less or by cutting back on certain types of food. But as an investor, what can you do to help keep your financial assets from losing purchasing power?

If you're an investor, you might be shaking your head in dismay after looking at your recent brokerage statements. In fact, you might even be thinking about giving up on Wall Street altogether. But before you do, consider the following story. Two typical American children, Mary and Michael, begin their day with a hearty breakfast of oatmeal produced by Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, based in Purchase, New York. At school, they work on a computer, using a Windows operating system produced by Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington.

It’s spring — time to clean out the gutters, tune up the lawnmower and wash down the windows. But as you attend to these types of tasks around your home, why not take the time to do some financial “spring cleaning” as well? Specifically, consider these moves: — “Dust off” your investment strategy. If there’s an area in your home that you haven’t looked at for a while, you may need to dust it off in preparation for the new season.

Like many people, you may make some New Year's resolutions. Perhaps you've promised yourself that you'll visit the gym more often or learn a new language or reconnect with a long-lost friend. All of these are worthy goals, of course, and if you achieve them, you may add new dimensions to your life. But if you want to accomplish other major milestones you may have envisioned ? a new home, college for your kids, a comfortable retirement and so on ? you may need to set some New Year's financial resolutions.

June is a popular month for weddings. If you're getting married this month, you have a lot to think about, but after the wedding - well, you'll have even more to think about. And one of those topics should be your investment strategy. In these days of economic uncertainty, it's important that you and your spouse make investment decisions today that will help you reach your long-term goals. Of course, the investment process can seem confusing to just one person, so you might think it will be twice as difficult for the two of you. But that's not necessarily so. You can launch an investment strategy that can serve you well throughout your lives together by following these few basic steps: Identify your goals When you start out, you may have short-term goals, such as saving enough for a down payment on a house.

It's graduation time at colleges across the country. If you have children graduating from college, you're probably excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for them. But once your last child leaves home, and you become an "empty nester," you also may find some good opportunities for yourself to improve your financial situation. In fact, your empty nest may help you make progress toward what are likely some key financial goals at this stage of your life: Getting rid of debt and accelerating your savings for retirement.

When you're working, you have a financial strategy that is largely based on one goal: saving money for a comfortable retirement. You'll likely have to make many adjustments over several decades to ensure that you stay on track saving and investing. But once you retire, a new goal arises - investing so you can remain retired. To help yourself achieve this goal, you will need to make a number of investment decisions. Which of these decisions are most important? Here are five to consider: How much will you spend each year?

Next week, President-elect Obama will become President Obama. Like people across the country, you will no doubt be greatly interested in how his actions will affect a wide variety of domestic and foreign-policy issues. But from a personal point of view, you may also be thinking about what an Obama Administration will mean for your investment strategy. In reality, the actions of any administration generally have only a limited impact on the financial markets. In our complex, interconnected world, a variety of factors - from actions of the Federal Reserve to corporate profits to oil prices to political instability abroad - all play a key role in determining the fortunes of the stock and bond markets.

If you're an investor, you might be shaking your head in dismay after looking at your recent brokerage statements. In fact, you might even be thinking about giving up on Wall Street altogether. But before you do, consider the following story. Two typical American children, Mary and Michael, begin their day with a hearty breakfast of oatmeal produced by Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, based in Purchase, New York. At school, they work on a computer, using a Windows operating system produced by Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington.

FRANKFORT - On Monday, Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Dave Adkisson expressed outrage about the recent report on investments by the Kentucky public pension systems and called for a legislative review of the matter. Kentucky's public pension systems lost out on $5 billion in investment earnings over the past 10 years because of a lack of diversification, according to a recent study commissioned by Gov. Beshear's pension task force. "This is outrageous! Taxpayers view this type of analysis and question how effectively their hard-earned money is being managed," said Adkisson.

Just a few years ago, economists were talking about the possible re-emergence of an economic phenomenon not seen in many decades: deflation, or declining prices of goods and services. Recently, however, inflation has risen from extremely low levels, driven largely by increased energy and grocery prices. As a consumer, you might fight the effects of inflation by driving less or by cutting back on certain types of food. But as an investor, what can you do to help keep your financial assets from losing purchasing power?

If you look for reasons not to invest right now, you could find them - global unrest, high gas prices and so on. Yet, if you wait until things settle down before investing, you'll have difficulty achieving your financial goals, because there will always be some external events that could keep you out of the market if you let them. But the smartest investors look beyond today's headlines - and when tomorrow arrives, they are often rewarded for their patience and perseverance. Want proof?