Keeping $$ safe, and growing for you
After months of bad news, there are some at least slightly positive economic indicators, according to our Financial Advisor panelists. They point to a sense, among their own clients, that it's time to re-invest.
Ted Serenski, from Dermody Burke & Brown Financial Services, says another good indicator that 'the bottom is near' is that Wall Street has been reacting more positively,, even to negative news like unemployment numbers. He points out that the market tends to be ahead of actual trends. Serenski also says this may be a good time to refinance mortgages, with bank interest rates down--he suggests even talking to the bank you're already doing business with, to see if they'll lower your rates without the expense of new closing paperwork.
Bryan Place, with Place Financial Advisors, says the Wall Street scandal involving Bernard Madoff has upset lots of investors because it's still not clear how many investors will be hurt. He suggests http://www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/index.htm as a place to check up on the reputation of the firm you deal with for investing, but also says the Federal Government's regulators let us down in the Madoff case.
Place also suggests a strategy for 'getting back in' on investing: new money going into 401Ks can be in more aggressive investing areas, primarily stocks, because if we're near the bottom, Place says they'll grow faster and give better returns.
Tony Schiano, with Ameriprise, says the good news for people who must take money out of savings (Required Minimum Distributions) is that for 2009, the requirements are being relaxed. For this year, the suggestion is to put the RMD directly into a charity to help it, and also get a tax writeoff.
Dennis Hebert, with Hebert Financial Strategies, says 529s are a reasonable place to invest for college funds: he suggests the parents hold the account (not grandparents), and, while New York's offers a state tax writeoff, other states have very attractive plans that may be worth investing in, instead.
The Financial Advisors return to answer phone calls next Monday 5 - 6:30pm, or comment below for answers to your financial questions.
