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Workshop Registration
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
Online Seminars
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
The Pulitzer Lesson
By Chris Roush
Fresh Financial Rules
By Jennifer Hopfinger
When Cash is King
By James Gentry
Independent Insight
By Dick Weiss
A Dream Realized
By Kelly Carr
Fresh Financial Rules
By Jennifer Hopfinger
April 24, 2009 01:51 PM
Money magazine flips conventional wisdom on its head in the April issue cover story, “The 7 New Rules of Financial Security,” an enlightening article for investors and also for business journalists. It’s clear that reporters, too, need to question the axioms they’ve heard over and over again from the planners, strategists, and managers they interview. “Occasionally the facts change too much for you to stick to old ways of thinking. This is one of those times,” the magazine warns. While so many articles about the “rules” of investing are formulaic and predictable, this one is anything but. Writers Carolyn Bigda and Paul J. Lim really pick apart the thinking behind long-held principles and offer up better ones for a post-crash world.
They begin with the whole notion of risk, which used to mean how much volatility you could tolerate - it was almost a measure of fortitude - but what really matters is how much you can afford to lose and still reach your financial goals. They move on to cash reserves, which up until recently were intended for income emergencies, such as loss of employment, but the writers point out that many are now having an “asset emergency,” which requires much larger reserve funds to cover lost investment proceeds.
The third rule examines “human capital,” or earnings potential, and how it relates to portfolio mix. Of course, investors should still start out aggressive when they’re young and become more conservative with age, but “the nature of your career may make your human capital more bond-like or more stock-like.” For example, “tenured professors … have human capital that resembles a triple-A-rated bond … Those lucky souls can dive aggressively into stocks … The human capital of a commission-based mortgage broker, on the other hand, is pretty clearly a stock—and it's not a blue chip.” And of course, the writers blast the old rules about debt and real estate, as you’d expect, but they have some unique insights there as well.
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Copyright © 2009 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
By Chris Roush
Fresh Financial Rules
By Jennifer Hopfinger
When Cash is King
By James Gentry
Independent Insight
By Dick Weiss
A Dream Realized
By Kelly Carr
Fresh Financial Rules
By Jennifer HopfingerApril 24, 2009 01:51 PM
Money magazine flips conventional wisdom on its head in the April issue cover story, “The 7 New Rules of Financial Security,” an enlightening article for investors and also for business journalists. It’s clear that reporters, too, need to question the axioms they’ve heard over and over again from the planners, strategists, and managers they interview. “Occasionally the facts change too much for you to stick to old ways of thinking. This is one of those times,” the magazine warns. While so many articles about the “rules” of investing are formulaic and predictable, this one is anything but. Writers Carolyn Bigda and Paul J. Lim really pick apart the thinking behind long-held principles and offer up better ones for a post-crash world.
They begin with the whole notion of risk, which used to mean how much volatility you could tolerate - it was almost a measure of fortitude - but what really matters is how much you can afford to lose and still reach your financial goals. They move on to cash reserves, which up until recently were intended for income emergencies, such as loss of employment, but the writers point out that many are now having an “asset emergency,” which requires much larger reserve funds to cover lost investment proceeds.
The third rule examines “human capital,” or earnings potential, and how it relates to portfolio mix. Of course, investors should still start out aggressive when they’re young and become more conservative with age, but “the nature of your career may make your human capital more bond-like or more stock-like.” For example, “tenured professors … have human capital that resembles a triple-A-rated bond … Those lucky souls can dive aggressively into stocks … The human capital of a commission-based mortgage broker, on the other hand, is pretty clearly a stock—and it's not a blue chip.” And of course, the writers blast the old rules about debt and real estate, as you’d expect, but they have some unique insights there as well.
Copyright © 2009 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism