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Some Companies Help Employees Be More Financially SavvySome companies are recognizing that employees need help with their investments and are offering online tools and classes. |
CalPERS' Housing Portfolio Down $3.2 BillionCalPERS disclosed a $3.2 billion decline in its housing portfolio Wednesday, the latest major setback for the big pension fund. The California Public Employees' Retirement System said an exhaustive appraisal of CalPERS-owned homes and lots across the United States revealed a 35 percent drop in value in a few short years, testament to the horrific collapse in the nation's housing market. |
Public Pension Funds Nationwide Feeling the PinchThe precipitous declines in equity, real estate and commodity markets have affected not only individual investors and over-leveraged banks, but also have had a severe impact upon public employee retirement funds across the country. |
Be Prepared to Pay Taxes on Mutual Funds Despite LossesJust when you thought your mutual fund losses couldn't get any worse, your fund might be about to add insult to injury. During the next few weeks, many mutual funds are expected to deliver some unpopular news to investors: You will owe capital gains taxes in April, even though your mutual funds might have lost thousands of dollars of your money in a plunging stock market. |
Confusion About a Profit-Sharing AccountQuestion: a small manufacturing company has a $1 million-plus employee profit-sharing account deposited with UBS Financial Services. It received a letter stating that, based on the current illiquidity and volatility of the market, plan-level withdrawals will be put on a 12-month hold. 25 have with questions about their accounts, but there is no clear explanation. Can you explain if this is acceptable practice for a trust company? Answer after the jump. |
Is It Safe to Go Back in the Investment Water?Some of the most famous American investors, including Warren Buffett and John Bogle, have started to make the case that it's time to dive back into the stock market. They are usually careful to add that they don't know what stocks will do in the short term. Yet their basic message is clear enough: Stocks are now cheap, irrational fears have been driving the market down lately, and people who buy today will be glad that they did. |
Managing in the Downturn: 10 PrinciplesA credit squeeze and higher commodity prices have triggered upheaval in the financial services sector and a squeeze on household budgets. The implications are now extending to every corner of the economy. Faced with slowdown and abiding by a new set of business rules, a London-based organization, the Management Consultancies Assn., worked with its members to answer a simple but pertinent question of importance: How should leaders of organizations respond to the enormous challenges they now face? |
Investors Can Bounce Back from Even the Worst of TimesMost market observers don't feel that an actual depression is in the cards. Still, there is fear in the air. People are watching hard-earned savings bleed away in their 401(k)s. What should your strategy be? Let's take a look at the worst period in history -- the Great Depression -- from an investor's perspective. |
Banking Savvy That Will Help You SleepBank failures! Stock market plunges! Mega-bailouts! The news is enough to make the financially challenged wonder if it might be time to stash cash under the mattress. Many consumers echo similar sentiments: they want their money in a bank that appears to be solid. |
Even in a Downturn, Minority-Oriented Private Equity Funds Beat the CurveDuring the 1990s, minority-oriented equity funds were able to capitalize on the nation's booming economy. According to a new survey from the Kauffman Foundation, those minority-oriented funds have continued to show better results than the most prominent stock indices, including the NASDAQ and the S&P 500, during the current economic stagnation. Minority-oriented funds are those that focus their investments on firms predominantly owned by Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians. |
Green Investing, The Color of MoneyIn the financial world, green can beget green--in all sorts of ways. In the past, "going green" meant protecting the planet, but today, it increasingly also means the potential profits reaped from environmental investments. "Green investing" focuses on a range of environmental and social concerns. Also called Socially Responsible Investing, or SRI, by analysts, its assets have blown through the roof in the past few years. |