Andy Hill with Ms Morrison

I was delighted to hear Andy Hill speak at the NAPFA—National Association of Personal Financial Advisors—National Conference in Chicago yesterday.   He played guard for John Wooden’s UCLA Basketball team.  Andy had the courage to call Coach Wooden decades later, to reconnect, and Coach Wooden warmly invited him to visit.  Andy would grow close to Coach Wooden, listening to hours of conversation, and accompanying Coach Wooden on several dozen speaking engagements, such that he regaled us with an hour of Coach Wooden’s principles.

Curious to me, that despite the magnificent winning record during those glory years, Andy said that Coach Wooden didn’t talk about winning.  He focused on EFFORT, not winning; focused on process, not outcomes.

Coach Wooden apparently had an 8 principle mantra:

• demonstration,
• imitation,
• correction and
•  repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.

(I think the parallels to creating an effective investment portfolio are similar: I demonstrate that index-like investments have performed admirably over history, we imitate the various “indexes”, we re-balance the proportions as necessary, and effectively continue that process until we achieve our financial and personal goals.)

Coach Wooden admonished athletes, “Be quick, but don’t hurry”.  Again, we women investors can learn from that saying; we need to be in the investing game–save quickly, yet not be in a hurry to reap medium-to-long-term rewards in the short term.  It’s common sense, yet worthy of stating, for sure.  That concept–be quick, but don’t hurry–so intrigued Andy, that he decided to write a book with that title.  He called Coach Wooden asking him if he’d agree to have his name associated with him and the book, and Coach Wooden denied his request twice, before Andy persistently called yet a third time, and was finally granted the request.  Fast forward, Andy wrote the book, and the rest is history.

I, too, think that if we focus on the “right” things, we can win, without being obsessed with winning.  We can then lose and instead of evoking a tirade, we can think hard about what we might have done differently, so the next time we face a similar situation, we can produce a better result.

First of all, the head of the woman is pictured with a Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, whereas the article stated that even today a significant “wage gap persists: women working full time earn a median wage that is 81% of what men make.”  So, while the women’s wages have indeed risen from 59% to 81% of what men make for the same exact job with the same exact qualifications, the question remains, how much juggling is really required for women breadwinners to indeed support their families in the lifestyle in which they are accustomed when they’re only earning a fraction of what men are earning for those very same jobs?  I’m thinking a LOT!

The second incongruity was that the $1.00 dollar bills are folded into the shape of a woman wearing a skirt.  How yesteryear is that?  I mean women have fought long and hard to get to the 81% level of males’ wages, and for the most part, they didn’t do it in a skirt; they did it in construction, engineering, as well as teaching and executive management, yet they were not hindered by the confines of a skirt.  Was that depiction of a skirt, to intentionally avert the comparison that more “women now wear the pants” in families?  Hmmmm.

Regardless of the cover picture, the article brings to light a remarkable sea change, insomuch as the fact that we’ve not seen this kind of seismic shift—whereby if the trends continue by the next generation, more families will be supported by women than by men–since women entered the workforce en masse after World War II, led by none other than Rosie the Riveter.

The US Bureau of Labor’s 2009 study shows that nearly 4 in 10 working wives outearn their husbands; an increase of more than 50% from 20 years hence.¹

¹ Mundy, Liza. “The Richer Sex.” Time Magazine 26 March 2012:30.

The old “deal” of women being subordinate to their husbands providing domestic services and sexual fidelity is officially off.  Simone de Beauvoir, the famous French philosopher stated that women were poorer in every sense for ever accepting that “deal”, yet:

1)     I don’t think there was ever a choice since society pegged the salaries of women significantly lower and gender-restricted several lucrative industries, and

2)    I think that society at large was poorer in forcing individuals into gender-restricted roles that in most cases, didn’t work well, or at all.  One wonders how much of this contributed/contributes to the over 51% of first marriage divorces today?

Interesting to me, as a Certified Financial Planner who advocates that couples routinely discuss their money, and major spending decisions, a Pew Research Center study found that when men were the dominant breadwinner, the major decisions were made jointly.  Conversely where the woman was the dominant breadwinner, she made twice as many major buying decisions.²

While buying decisions are said to include financial services, it has been my experience over the past 33 years, that women still lag woefully behind in making the investment decisions.  And when they do invest, they do so without proper education or training about how to create and monitor a portfolio, but rather with a mantra and investment discipline that matches, of “I don’t want to lose ANY money”.  This results in women, even higher earning (and major breadwinner) women still invest more heavily in Interest Only and Bond investments, rather than stock investments.  Why does this make a difference you ask?  Well, first of all, historically speaking, no other asset class other than stocks has kept pace with the ravages of inflation; no other asset class has produced a return that would not only survive one’s tax bracket bite, yet also outperform whatever the CPI (measurement of inflation) rate was that year in order to buy the goods and services in that and future years.  So, why have women eschewed stocks?  They have succumbed to their own fear-filled emotions in pulling out of

² Mundy, Liza. “The Richer Sex.” Time Magazine 26 March 2012:31.

the stock market when it ebbs–as the stock market inevitably does in the normal cycle of investing—and then staying on the sidelines for fear of losing more.

Women need to think differently about money, and about investing.  And when that happens, women will at least have a fighting chance to build retirement nest eggs, all the while supporting themselves, and perhaps a family as well.  Until then, women’s financial needs will largely go unmet, and they will inevitably face a much longer working life than would otherwise be necessary.

The article speaks about men having “no map for the wilderness” of suddenly forsaking everything they’ve been conditioned and socialized to believe about their role in their families and in the larger society.  Well while that is a concern, it is certainly LESS of a concern than my concern for women, who will NEED to invest wisely, as they generally take multiple year respites from the work force to have and/or raise children, and whose very retirement plans will need to provide many more years, to match their extended longevity—that is, unless their health declines as has been the case with men dealing with breadwinner stress, which will ultimately shorten women’s lives as well.

Let’s hope we women can use the men’s experience as a warning, and seek medical check- ups on a routine basis, so that we can nip any medical ailment in the bud, and continue to pursue our dreams—whether that’s as a stay-at-home mom, a mom in a breadwinning career, or a single woman in either or both capacities—as I also learned that 41% of babies are born to single women.³

The statistics of the last year have increasingly drawn our awareness to the sea change of women’s roles, and responsibilities; one of which is to attend to their/our finances—even if it is to delegate the core responsibility to a fee-only (objective) financial planner, as if our lives depended upon it, because they do.

We Can Do It Women!

³ Mundy, Liza. “The Richer Sex.” Time Magazine 26 March 2012:34.

Imagine living in a society where choice is not an option.  Choice about whom to marry seems so automatic to us United States’ citizens, it’s a real eye opener to read of those whom lack such basic choices.

So, the Women in the World conference this past weekend in New York, highlighted our need to support such women with our finances and time, to liberate themselves and their families and villages.

I’m quoting from this link, http://www.thedailybeast.com/women-in-the-world.html

Newsweek and The Daily Beast editor-in-chief Tina Brown, who organized the event, said,

‘What’s exciting about this event is that these women come here and get energized by the freedoms that we have here. I think that by showing these women that we care about them, that we support them, either financially or with time, it fortifies them in their struggle.’

So, this calls us into further responsibility to Master our Money now.  We’ve no more time to waste on our excuses that “money is complicated”, or that we’re “not inclined to care about our money”.  That last quote kills me when I hear US Boomer women say that.  Well, I AM inclined to think about our money, as that will be our ‘ticket’ to greater freedoms and ultimately choices of how we mature, how we age, where we will live, how much we can travel, and, of course, how much we can loan or give women with far less than our (privileged) selves.

Join me to learn the basics of money and investing, and then strategies to Master your Money; it’s doable, and easier with an experienced money coach, so let’s get started, shall we?

Might I suggest that we all take just 3 minutes each morning to reflect on our upcoming day…musing about what COULD happen today, and begin to amass a list of possibilities—ones which would enhance our mood, enhance our friends and family’s moods, enhance our bodies and general health, enhance our financial balance sheet, or simply enhance a stranger’s life.  I find some of the greatest pleasure in performing what some call a simple act of kindness to complete strangers.  Flashing a smile at just the right moment, connecting glances to convey you are not alone, high fiving someone to celebrate a “small” achievement, or something “gone right”.  As a matter of fact, when I am feeling down, the quickest way to pull me back into myself–which is Love, as everyone’s self is–is to extend love to someone else, which always seems infinitely easier than expressing love to myself, dah!  It is up to each of us, however, to bring Love home, within our Selves.

Being raised Christian fundamentalist, I heard over and over again, “love your neighbor as thyself” and it stymied me, cause I didn’t have a very good opinion of myself.  Well I’ve grown to understand that it is perhaps our utmost responsibility to God and the Universe to enhance our opinion of ourselves…we ARE created by God, after all, and “God didn’t make junk!”

So I suggest that we “spring past” each and every incident, word or phrase that appears, or feels, like it is self-denigrating, in order to reclaim Love, reclaim our BEST being(s)—today and each new day.  You know there is NO guarantee that you will finish today, let alone be granted a tomorrow.  98% of the people in each day’s obituaries didn’t expect to be THERE!

Let no more time be wasted on negative thoughts, especially those directed towards ourselves.  Let’s SPRING into positive, SPRING into deep breathing to cleanse our souls, clearing out our lungs, enabling them to work at full tilt to energize us to reach new heights.  Let’s SPRING into ideas, some of them, Big, Hairy, Audacious ones…why not?  What have we to lose?  Let’s rediscover the curiosity of a 2 year old, contemplating a flight of stairs, with the human urge to crawl up those stairs; absent the “what if the other kids at my play day see me slip?  Will they make fun of me?” notions, that we adults often are limited by.  Let’s dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is hearing, and act like we’ve only the stars to catch (or perhaps the moon), cause guess what, that’s all that matters.  Surely, that’s living in wealth?

Women, join me in SPRINGING AHEAD– into our own POSSIBILITIES—those in our heads and those not yet dreamed of, and ultimately AHEAD into our own GREATNESS, in which God is already WELL pleased.

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: Mistakes That Can Wreck A Retirement
By Veronica Dagher
A DOW JONES NEWSWIRES COLUMN
3 May 2011

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Some retirees are making avoidable mistakes, damaging both their personal and financial lives.

Not having a game plan in retirement, botching up their investments and making hasty housing decisions are just a few of the pitfalls advisers are seeing clients fall into.

Greensboro, N.C.-based certified financial planner Dennis Stearns had a client who “sailed into retirement with plenty of money and good health.” But the client became bored within a couple of years of playing golf and sitting around the house.

The client had an affair, left his wife and married his girlfriend. The divorce, remarriage, and subsequent divorce wrecked his finances and alienated him from his entire family.

While Stearns says this is an extreme example, it demonstrates the need for retirees to have a game plan. “Too much time can lead to overspending and some other major personal and financial mistakes,” he says.

If an adviser notices a client is foundering with their new found free time or not thinking through the consequences of their decisions, Stearns says they can “gently nudge” the clients to stay active, engaged and set goals. Then can also lay out the financial implications of bad decisions.

Quitting work cold turkey can be a big mistake for some soon-to-be retirees, says Peg Eddy, a San Diego-based certified financial planner. One of Eddy’s clients resigned from his role as corporate executive but then struggled to find his identity. “It took him a while to get used to the idea he was no longer ‘John Smith, CEO of ABC Co.,’” she says.

To make the transition easier, and if it’s possible, Eddy advises clients to ratchet down their work schedule step-by-step, a year or 18 months before retiring. She recommends clients work four days a week and then eventually stop working completely.

Eddy also says clients who wish to do consulting work after they retire should cultivate potential business while they are still employed. “It’s too tough to reconnect after you are out of the corporate world/womb,” she says.

Abigail Rosen, a Madison, N.J.-based certified financial planner, has seen too many clients assume that because they are retired they should make their investments significantly more conservative.

That’s usually not a good idea, she says. “What some retirees don’t understand is that they could live another 20 to 30 years,” says Rosen. Instead, she encourages clients to maintain a well-diversified portfolio to ensure the growth they’ll need in their late 80′s or 90′s.

Retirees often plan on downsizing their home, says Alan Moore, a Rapid City, S.D., certified financial planner. “Most figure they will sell the two-story, 2,500 square-foot house and downsize to a quaint, one-story house that is easier to maintain,” he says. And while they often assume the one-story house will be cheaper since it’s smaller, they often buy where other retirees live and the housing prices are a bit higher than a normal neighborhood, he says. As a result, they may end up spending all of the sale proceeds from their home on the new, smaller home.

Moore says while it generally makes sense to downsize, retirees should make sure they run the numbers with their adviser to ensure they’ll end up spending less and not more.

Retirees should also spend at least four to six months in the area they are thinking of relocating to before they buy a property in that area, says Debra Morrison, a Roseland, N.J.-based certified financial planner. “It’s best to experience the summer heat in Florida and Arizona first-hand, for example, before pounding in stakes permanently,” she says.

The logical question is, if this milestone made the news, how does that information impact my portfolio, and what action should I take, if any?

Well, to answer the first question, to the extent of your US Large stock holdings, your account value has gone up marginally from yesterday to today’s close, and would now be valued at slightly higher than it was in early 2008.

To answer the second question, no trading should be precipitated because of this news.  As a matter of fact, market prices go up and market prices go down; they generally follow cycles that ebb and flow.  Some pundits are stating that the market prices will surely pull back from here; suggesting taking measures to “lock” in their gains, however meager, right now.  Yet if their gains have shown up mostly since the first of 2012, investors would be selling their holdings prior to having held the stocks or stock mutual funds for a year and a day, and thus be subject to short-term capital gains rates, which mirror your individual income tax bracket, whereas gains on assets that have been held for at least a year and a day are still taxed at a maximum federal 15% bracket—a real steal!

We must resist the press’ encouragement and urging to “act” based upon today’s (or any) day’s news, just as we would restrain ourselves from taking drastic action if our child brought home either an A or a D on a daily quiz.  We may well ask the child what happened that resulted in either grade, yet we would most likely frame that single grade amidst several other quiz grades, and form an opinion as to whether the goal (in this case, our child’s education) is progressing in a satisfactory manner, or not.

Investing, like learning, is a task for several weeks, months and years.  A day’s price does not an investment make!  So, fair warning:  just about the time our emotions get heightened the next time we hear, or read about stock market activity, I urge us to separate our emotions from our intellect.  We will allow our emotions to question and react, and then we will harken back to our overall financial plan, which most likely entails purchasing investments—either with lump sums of money, or spread out over successive months; through a process called Dollar Cost Averaging.

Dollar Cost Averaging it the fancy term for splitting one’s lump sum into equal monthly installments that will be invested, perhaps at the end of each upcoming month, over a period of 6-12 months, generally.  So, if we have 24,000 to invest, we might spread that investment over, let’s say, 6 months.  Here’s how that math works:  we divide 24,000 by 6, and the answer is $4,000.  We would invest $4,000 at the end of February—tomorrow, and then invest another $4,000 at the end of March, and then another $4,000 at the end of April, and then May, June and finally July.  Yet, because we do not have a crystal ball, we cannot tell if the price of these investments will be higher or lower than today’s value, so one strategy to mitigate that price risk, involves making systematic monthly purchases through Dollar Cost Averaging, that overall, have proven to be more effective than attempting to select one particular day in which to invest our lump sum.

This process has worked very well for investors, and it is the exact model that most 401(k) retirement plans, and most 403(b) pension plans utilize by allowing the employee to select an amount that they want to invest, such that the employer simply takes that amount right off the top of each month’s—or pay period’s check—and invests that money directly into the retirement plan sub-accounts.  This automatic investing often compounds into a respectable sum in even a few years.

Actually, we really want the price of our investments to drop while we are investing, as when that happens, we are able to purchase more units of the investment.  Here’s an example of us investing $200 per month, each and every month.  Let’s keep the math simple now, by make believing we’ll be investing only into one sub-account, whose price today was $5.00 per share.  So, we divide $200 by $5.00 and we get 40 units for our investment today.  If the market price of that sub-account goes up to let’s say even 5.50 per share next month, we’ll only be able to purchase $200 divided by $5.50, which is 36.3636 units.  “Yes, but the units are worth less than yesterday, you retort!”  My reply is that your focus needs to be on accumulating as many UNITS as possible, rather than concerning yourself with the actual price of that particular sub-account.  Upon your retirement, or whenever you choose to begin withdrawing sums of money, we’ll decide which particular units we wish to cash in first, as by then, you will have amassed probably 4 -8 different subaccounts.

Summarizing then, IF you do not have a strategy for investing now, IF  you do not know whether you should be in the market or not, then the first step is to review your short term and medium term goals against the monies you have stashed wherever, and determine if you are poised to meet your goals.  If not, may I suggest that you begin to invest, systematically into the markets, and especially the stock markets for any amounts that you are expecting to grow at a rate that would (as least historically speaking) perform at a higher rate than the cost of living (inflation).

Let’s develop or hone our plans for investing and be diligent about sticking to our plan, rather than being “whipped by the wind” of individual days’ price swings.  I suspect we are in for yet MORE price volatility, so make your plan, work your plan, and once a year review your plan, preferably with a fee-only Certified Financial Planner, who can ensure you are effectively diversified, in order to meet your goals.

As Margaret Thatcher’s advisors admonished her in the movie, Iron Lady, “if you want to change ….. lead!  God Speed to you, as you lead your investing with a well-thought out plan, and then you follow that very plan, period.

• Mary Somerville: Scottish scientist and feminist, who published her last book published at age 89
• Evangeline Booth: first female International Salvation Army Chief at 69
• Margaret Mead: was still working and publishing in her 70′s
• Julia Flikke: first female US Army Colonel at 64
• Vaira Vike-Freiberga: Latvia’s first woman president at 61
• Marlene Baldwin: former prostitute and brothel madam who later ran a successful direct-mail advertising company from home, at 64 named CA’s Businessman of the Year (2004) by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
• Muriel Siebert – First woman to hold a seat on NY Stock Exchange. (I was privileged to chat with Muriel and was awed by her tenacity.)

And that’s just the first 7 that come to mind!

Small steps, taken one at a time, a journey makes. We can master the money mindset. Then, we can move on to how money works and lastly, how money can work for you. It’s not impossible, it’s just a question of breaking things down into manageable steps. Just like recovering from major surgery, losing weight and, frankly if you’ve had the misfortune to live this, grappling with grief.

We can do it, Women! Rosie Riveter wasn’t alone, and you aren’t either!

Excerpt from the upcoming book, “Financial Fitness For Women”, due out this summer.

We posted some deeper descriptions on benchmarks in a recent blog post.

A benchmark, as it pertains to investing, is a standard used for comparison in order to gauge performance of a stock, bond, or mutual fund.

Which benchmark is used is determined by what is an appropriate measure for the stock, bond, or mutual fund. For instance, if a mutual fund invested primarily in large, US corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange, then the Dow Jones Industrial Average could be an appropriate benchmark for comparison.

If this mutual fund then returned 10% in a certain period of time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 5% in the same period of time, then the mutual fund is said to “outperform its benchmark.” Whether you’re investing for beginners or a seasoned pro, you need a comparison or a benchmark to compare your results against. Wall Streeters have long been accused of picking a benchmark that suits a particular performance, rather than always going up against the most common, and best known indexes.

There are lots of indexes, all of which produce a benchmark/average/index. Here is a partial List Of Financial Market Indexes, an excerpt from Ms Morrison’s Dictionary of Useful Financial Investment Terms

• Dow Jones Industrial Average – Although Charles Dow compiled the 30 stock index to gauge the performance of the industrial sector within the US economy, the index’s performance continues to be influenced by not only corporate and economic reports, but also by domestic and foreign political events. The Industrial portion of the name is largely historical, as many of the modern 30 components have little or nothing to do with traditional heavy industry. Its price-weighted average compensates for stock splits and other adjustments.
• S & P 500 Index – The S&P 500® has been widely regarded as the best single gauge of the large cap U.S. equities market since the index was first published in 1957. The index includes 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy, capturing 75% coverage of U.S. equities. The S&P 500 is a market value weighted index – each stock’s weight is proportionate to its market value.
• S & P Mid-Cap 400 Index – This Standard & Poor’s index serves as a barometer for the U.S. mid-cap equities sector and is the most widely followed mid-cap index in existence. To be included in the index, a stock must have a total market capitalization that ranges from roughly $750 million to $3 billion dollars. S&P 400 MidCap Index is a value-weighted index, meaning that the stocks with the largest market capitalization have the most significant impact on the movement of the index. Similarly, smaller movements in the smallest companies in the index have virtually no effect on the overall movement of the index.
• NASDAQ Composite – The Nasdaq Composite is comprised of over 3,000 common stocks, limited partnerships, ADRs, of both US and non-US companies. It’s followed as an indicator of the technology and growth company stocks’ performance.
• Russell 1000 Growth – The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
• Russell 1000 Value – The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values.
• Russell 1000 Index – The Russell 1000 Index measures the performance of the large-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. It is a subset of the Russell 3000® Index and includes approximately 1,000 of the largest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The Russell 1000 represents approximately 92% of the Russell 3000 Index
• Russell 2000 Growth – The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of the small-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
• Russell 2000 Value – The Russell 2000 Value Index measures the performance of small-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 2000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
• Russell 2000 Index – The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000® Index representing approximately 8% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership.
• Russell 3000 Growth – The Russell 3000 Growth Index measures the performance of the broad growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 3000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

Russell 3000 Value - The Russell 3000 Value Index measures the performance of the broad value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 3000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

• Russell 3000 Index – The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the largest 3000 U.S. companies representing approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market.
• Russell MidCap Growth Index – The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell Midcap Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
• Russell MidCap Value Index – The Russell Midcap Value Index measures the performance of the mid-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell Midcap Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
• Russell MidCap Index – The Russell Midcap Index measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell Midcap Index is a subset of the Russell 1000® Index. It includes approximately 800 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The Russell Midcap Index represents approximately 27% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 1000 companies.
• Wilshire 5000 – Once 5000 stocks, this index now comprises over 6,700 stocks of publicly traded companies that are US headquartered, actively traded on the American Stock Exchange and are readily priced to the public. It’s a market capitalization-weighted index, which overweights higher firm value companies, and underweights those with a lower firm value.
• Wilshire REIT Index – A market-weighted index of real estate partnerships, Real Estate Operating Companies, otherwise known as REOCs, and publicly traded real estate trusts, otherwise known as REITs.
• EAFE – Europe, Australia & Far East Index, is an unmanaged market-value weighted index that measures the condition of overseas stock markets. Countries represented in the EAFE include France, Germany, UK, Japan and Hong Kong.
• MSCI World Index – An index consisting of a wide selection of stocks traded in 23 developed countries. It is market capitalized weighted and is considered an important benchmark of the state of global stock markets
• MSCI Europe – An index consisting of a wide selection of stocks traded in 23 developed countries- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It is market capitalization weighted and is considered an important benchmark of the state of global stock markets.
• MSCI Emerging Markets – a market capitalized idex that measures the stock market returns of 21 emerging countries– Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey
• Lehman Aggregate Bond Index – the best total market bond index used by more than 90% of all US investors, which includes government, mortgage-backed, asset-backed and corporate securities to simulate the entire universe of bonds whose maturities are over 1 year.
• Lehman Government Bond Index – This index tracks most all of the US Treasury Bonds and US Government Agency bonds in the US, including the 1-3 Year Government Index as well as the 20 plus year Treasury Index.

Obviously, we women want to be WISEinvestors (a recurring theme here on my blog and website), yet it’s all about balance. I often speak of a pants pocket analogy when explaining balance, as you’ll hear on this podcast. I also mention and define various risks and warn about the inevitability of losing money while on the road to gaining it. It’s what investments do – their prices gyrate up and down, yet over the long haul, most (not all) make money. People’s “mistakes” or perceived mistakes vary, yet most aren’t so critical they can’t be fixed. It’s how you plan first for the proper “mix” between stocks and bonds (dependent upon your goals) and then systematically re-balance your portfolio that position you to be a BIG winner in the end.How to make money in life is a blend of earned and unearned income and on the latter, we have a choice between active and passive investing. You’ll hear my formula for success, and my firmly held beliefs on the value of passive investing over active investing, based upon years of research.

Enjoy!