DIY Personal & Retirement Financial Planning
Do-It-Yourself financial and investment planning Excel spreadsheet software
Most individual investors are poor investment portfolio managers Investors more easily understand investment costs that are directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements. However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the “opportunity costs†of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment costs […]
Your personal investment management contribution is the total value that you add to your investment portfolio less the opportunity cost of your time. When divided by the hours you spend, you can estimate an hourly wage for your personal investment management contribution. Obviously, the objective is to have a high investment wage. Unfortunately, for most […]
Your time is valuable, and it should be included in calculations about your investment returns. Whether you add or subtract value from your assets when you spend time on investment activities should also be evaluated. Some investors spend significant time on the wrong strategies. Instead of adding value, their efforts reduce their investment portfolio performance […]
Before estimating the investment value that you might add or take away from your portfolio, you first need to determine whether your strategies are or are not likely to lead to optimal risk-adjusted investment returns. This value estimation is separate from any hourly opportunity cost related to spending time on your investments versus an alternative […]
CLICK HERE TO READ THE SKILLED INVESTOR’s OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT THESE “10 FINANCIAL PLANNING STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.” Investors with different levels of risk tolerance are more satisfied with investment strategies that are better aligned with their risk preferences. Financial Planning Software for Individuals Differences in investors’ personal risk tolerances mean that more risk-averse […]
“Market efficiency” makes it very difficult for individual investors to “beat the market.” Making their own decisions, individual investors perform so poorly that on average their investment returns lag behind the returns that one would expect from random stock selection. The average professional trader does somewhat better than amateurs do, and professionals probably do so, […]
The heavy burden of recurring investment fees (Part 2 of 2) < < — Go to Part 1 By charging fees as a percent of your assets, the investment industry can make their recurring fees seem small – like they are “just a few†percent. Discover Home Financial Planning Software Furthermore, by charging fees against […]
The heavy burden of recurring investment fees (Part 1 of 2) Recurring investment costs can significantly impact the long-term value of your retained investment portfolio assets. Recurring fees, such as asset management fees, 12b-1 marketing fees, and advisory/asset custody fees are charged periodically, as a percent of your investment assets. The relative cost-efficiency of your […]
Spending your valuable time on the wrong financial activities is just plain bad for you A previous article, “The Solution – ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,†suggested that individuals are much better off with a well-considered financial viewpoint. This follow-up article discusses […]
Excessive investment expenses take 2% of individual investor’s assets every year Year after year, millions of people lose large amounts of money on unnecessary and unproductive investment costs and investment expenses. The typical investor loses about 2% of portfolio assets every year by paying too much and getting too little in return. Discover Home Financial […]
Complete portfolio diversification is always a better idea. On average, the securities markets will not pay you to hold any skewed subset of the overall market. Doing so is just a gamble that may or may not pay off. You should not expect to be paid any more for the added risk and anxiety. Find […]