Investing in Stocks, Bonds & Mutual Funds


We have a lot riding on our investments. For most of us, investing returns will dictate when we retire and how we will live during retirement. The performance of our investments also impact our children`s education and overall financial security. All of which is to say that mutual fund and stock investing is of critical importance to most of us. While I am not an investing professional, I have managed my family`s investments for more than 15 years. Through bear and bull markets, I have learned many lessons the hard (and expensive) way, and write about them here.

Investing for Beginners

Blackbelt Investing

Mutual Fund Investing Tools

Investing in Stocks

Investing

Why Tesla Stock Should Not Electrify You

May 9, 2013

As I write this, shares of Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) are on a tear. Up over 20% on news of its first quarter results, the market is doing what the market does–go crazy. I spent all of about 60 seconds looking at Tesla’s 2012 year end financial statements and its first quarter 2013 results. That’s [...]

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Pros and Cons of Hiring an Investment Specialist

May 9, 2013

I‘ve been investing in the stock market for more than 20 years. During that time I’ve never hired an investment adviser to manage my portfolio. The primary reason is cost. A close second reason is that I enjoy investing. But if I’ve learned one thing from running this website it’s that how I handle my [...]

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PowerShares S&P 500® High Quality Portfolio (SPHQ) Review

April 24, 2013

When I first started investing, I had the hardest time figuring out which mutual funds to select. Over the years, I’ve learned that the key selection criteria are costs and asset class (e.g., large cap U.S. vs. small cap). Still, with 1,000s of mutual funds and ETFs, picking the right investments can seem overwhelming. To [...]

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Motif Investing Review

April 18, 2013

As I mentioned recently, the individual stocks and ETF’s I invested in last year returned more than 33%. As a once buy-and-hold index fund investor, my foray into individual stock investing is something I never would’ve guessed five years ago. As happy as I am with the results so far, investing in individual stocks those [...]

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How I Clobbered the Market in 2012

March 13, 2013

About three years ago I did the unthinkable–I started investing in individual stocks. As a long-term, buy and hold, index fund investor, dipping my toe in the deep end of the pool was unnerving. But there I was, buying shares of Citi in my SEP IRA that I have with Scottrade. There were two reasons [...]

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Dow 14,000–Interview with Gerri Willis of the Willis Report

March 1, 2013

Recently Gerri Willis of the Willis Report (Fox Business Network) and I had a chance to exchange email on the Dow. With it recently surpassing 14,000 (again), I wanted to get Gerri’s take on the Dow’s historic climb (I guess history does repeat itself). As somebody who largely ignores the hoopla around something like Dow [...]

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When Should I Start Investing? Now!

February 6, 2013

For most people, the time to start investing is now Photo: jakeandlindsay Over the years I’ve blogged here at the Dough Roller, one question I’ve been asked repeatedly is when should you start investing. To me, the question is very much like asking when you should start eating healthy and working out. If you can [...]

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Bonds vs. Stocks—Which is Riskier?

January 28, 2013

Bonds are riskier than stocks for long term investors. Here’s why. Photo: Stuck in Customs We’ve all heard it a thousand times–stocks are riskier than bonds. This mantra has prompted many young people to swear off stock investments in favor of “safer” bonds and even certificates of deposit. And the result is a far, far [...]

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E*Trade Promotion: Up to $600 on Rollover of 401(k) or IRA

January 24, 2013

E*Trade is offering up to $600 in bonus cash on new IRA accounts When you leave a job where you had a 401(k), you have two basic options: 1. You can do absolutely nothing and watch your nest egg get eaten alive by high fees and poor service that often accompanies 401(k) plans; or 2. [...]

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