The continued growth of ETFs isn’t going to stop anytime soon. If your 401k doesn’t offer them as an investment option, just wait. It will soon. As the low-cost equivalent to most mutual funds, ETFs are becoming the go to investment of choice for anyone not willing or interested in stock picking and owning individual bonds. But is it a good thing.
One of the benefits everyone, myself included, touts about ETFs is how easy it is to buy and sell them. The soonest a mutual fund share transaction goes through is at the end of the business day, if you’re lucky. With ETFs you can buy and sell them in microseconds and its done. Now anyone can be a trader for a day and the growing number of exotic, “smart” beta, and specialized ETFs just makes it easier. There in lies the dilemma. Continue Reading…
The push to a cashless society has been slowly ongoing since the first credit card was introduced decades ago. It wasn’t until recently that technology has caught up with the possibility. Whether the move towards reality continues will be more about acceptance and security than anything else. With computers becoming smaller, faster and the world continuing on its wireless path, it’s almost inevitable.
People are constantly on the lookout for the perfect investment strategy. The Holy Grail of constant profitable returns. Unfortunately, no strategy is perfect in the sense that it will guarantee returns. In fact, I’ll argue that only having one strategy limits your ability to invest profitably.