Some of last years worst performing fund categories are the best performers this year. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. It happens often. It’s not always consistent across every asset class or sector. But when you beat something down far enough, eventually it has no place to go but up.
It happened with solar in 2013. This year-long term government bonds, muni bonds, REITs, utilities, and gold are outperforming the S&P 500.
Should you pour money into these categories because each performed well? Chasing is a bad strategy. Maybe it’s time to spring clean your portfolio, not rearrange it. Continue Reading…
Did you know you might be overpaying capital gains tax on investments because of tax rules that went into effect in 2011? Those new rules changed the way we report capital gains and losses on investments. Under the old rules, it was your job to report cost basis, that’s what you paid for the investment, to the IRS. With the new rules, it’s your broker’s or fund company’s responsibility.