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Annuity Investment – Final Thoughts

Ask-Learn-Share Discussion March 9, 2022 Sid Roy Last month we talked about a very interesting topic - annuities. That session was super informative, but annuities are a deep topic, and we had a lot of ground to cover. So, we followed up with another session this month on annuities covering various aspects. The first question we talked about is – who should consider annuities. As we learned last month, annuities are akin to your own personal pension. At the high level, annuities provide a guaranteed sum of money for the rest of your life like a public pension would. Therefore,…

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Introduction to Annuity Investment

Ask-Learn-Share Discussion February 6, 2022 Sid Roy This month we talked about a topic that mystified me personally for a while - annuities. This session was super informative and cleared up many beginner questions. This article summarizes the discussion we had. Annuities are a broad and deep topic so we will cover it in multiple articles. So, what are annuities? The simplest way to understand annuities is to think of a concept most of us are familiar with – the house mortgage. In taking out a loan to finance the purchase of a home, we agree to pay the bank…

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Goal-based Investing

Ask-Learn-Share Discussion December 2, 2021 Sid Roy Today we will discuss Goal Based Investing. We will tackle this in two parts. The first part is – what is goal-based investing? And in the second part, we will take a look at the differences between two specific goals as examples and compare differences in our approach towards these goals. Now let us get started. We are all familiar with setting goals at work. Then we have different initiatives and projects to progress towards that goal. Similarly, we all have goals in our personal lives. Typical examples of such goals might be…

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Measuring Portfolio Risk

Ask-Learn-Share Discussion January 6, 2022 Sid Roy All of us know there are risks in managing investment but that is where most people stop. This risk is somewhat confusing to get a grasp on. The lack of understanding can lead to bad investment decisions. It can also stop people from investing at all due to fear. As part of the Ask-Listen-Share series, we decided to focus on understanding and measuring portfolio risk in January. The first question is – what is risk? The most common understanding of risk is the chance of losing principal money in any investment. This is…

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Stocks and Bonds – the very basics of investments

Sid Roy In our everyday conversations about money, we often assume that most people know what stocks and bonds are. At times it becomes apparent that some people don’t. A recent example is a casual chat with a friend of mine who wished she had a pension just like her dad. She did not understand why the stock market returns were so unpredictable and why could she not get a decent interest on her money without the uncertainty. This conversation certainly made me pause and realize something. There are possibly more people like her who do not feel grounded in…

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Investing for Retirement – what is your number?

Sid Roy “Sid, what is your number?” This was the odd question that came up during a career conversation with one of our senior leaders at work. I was taken aback by that question especially because it had come up at the office, not with a financial advisor. As I mulled over it, the amazing clarity of that blunt question really hit home.  I really had not thought that deeply about a concrete number – a dollar amount as a retirement goal. And yet, everything is connected to that number. How much do I need to live comfortably throughout my…

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Asset Allocation: Five Misconceptions

Sid Roy The word Asset Allocation comes up sooner or later once you get serious about saving for your retirement. Sadly, this is where most people hit a significant roadblock. I know I did. It took me a while to get over that hurdle. Let me address the five misconceptions I had around this topic. I hope my learning helps you to avoid the mistakes I made. 1. Asset allocation doesn’t need to be complicated. I wasted months in reading all kinds of books and browsing financial blogs to learn about all the different theories and model portfolios. In the…

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Your Personal Finance Statement

Sid Roy I had intended to write this article a while back during the tax season and then some personal events derailed that plan. Now, it is the end of the financial year for many companies in US. And I again got inspired to write about this topic. As the earnings from the companies roll in, I got reminded of an important lesson to be drawn here. Every well-run company sets some goals and measures its progress throughout the year with quarterly statements of its financial health and future prospects. Based on Wikipedia, the main and relevant parts of the…

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