HIS

One of our Successful Investor Wealth Management clients recently turned 70, and he wonders what effect this should have on his portfolio management. He now has 85% of his portfolio in stocks, 15% in short-term T-bills and zero in long-term bonds and other long-term fixed-return investments.

This Successful Investor Wealth Management client has a pension that provides most of the …read more »

Our Successful Investor business model has two parts. We publish investment advice, and we manage investor portfolios.

This two-business model has advantages for our subscribers. The stock market investing problems we encounter as money managers, and the solutions we come up with, help us give our readers unbiased, practical advice. This serves as a counterweight to advice you may encounter elsewhere …read more »

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have gained popularity in recent years, mainly because many ETFs offer very low management fees. In addition to low fees, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, highly tax-efficient portfolios.

However, quality varies. The investment industry has created all sorts of ETFs. All too many exist to tap into popular, but risky, themes and fads, so you need to be …read more »

Members of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle enjoy a double benefit when it comes to taking advantage of our investment research. They get to address investment questions directly to Pat and his research associates; AND they get to see all other members’ questions, and our answers (of course, we eliminate any personal information). Members usually ask about stocks they own or …read more »

One way to cut your tax bill in retirement is for you and your spouse to arrange the family finances so that you each have equal retirement income.

That’s because, if one spouse earns more than the other, the higher-income spouse would, of course, be in a higher tax bracket. That means that any extra money the higher-income spouse earns …read more »

YUM! BRANDS INC. $34 (New York symbol YUM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 467.7 million; Market cap: $15.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5: WSSF Rating: Above Average) is a fast-food operator whose main brands include Kentucky Fried Chicken. “Colonel” Harland Sanders, originator of the KFC recipe, turned himself into the personification of the brand. He was its spokesperson until …read more »

With the Canadian dollar trading near $0.97 U.S., and outperforming many of the world’s major currencies, interest in forex (or foreign exchange) investments has picked up lately.

Forex investments involve dealing in foreign currency futures or options. This can make sense for a business that is forced to take on unacceptable currency risk. Futures or options let the business pass that …read more »

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $56 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $78.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; SI Rating: Above Average) will buy the third party registered investment advisor servicing business of U.S. banking firm J.P. Morgan & Co. (New York symbol JPM). The deal should close in the second quarter of 2010.

This …read more »

Green stocks have a lot of conceptual and emotional appeal, but may offer limited investment potential. Investments in environmental or green stocks may need a long time to move from the research or concept stage to profitability in the face of high initial costs and uncertain government subsidies. So they may not be profitable for investors.

It’s hard to set …read more »

The Successful Investor value investing approach follows the basic model set by the old-fashioned Graham/Dodd approach. Basically, it tries to identify well-financed companies that are well-established in their businesses and have a history of earnings and dividends. They are likely to survive any economic setback that comes along, and thrive anew when prosperity returns, as it inevitably does.
When we recommend …read more »