Wroley1 Loc: Athens,GA

Does anyone on UHH know or subcribe and is it worth it?

Hank Radt

I know it, but I find Barron's more to my liking. Try them both for an initial period and see which you like better. And don't overlook yahoo finance - they may have other issues, but they do a great job in packaging key financial stats on companies for more in-depth research. Google finance is pretty good also, but I find it more time-consuming than yahoo to get to what I need.

Wroley1 Loc: Athens,GA

Thank you kndly sir for that information. Have a great evening!

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

If you are searching for mutual funds or ETF's, try Maxfunds.com. They rate funds, and give links to yahoo, google, and Morningstar.

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

All these sites offer advice and are in most cases generic in their advice. If you are concerned about your financial future talk to someone who knows your name. Yes, it will cost you a fee. Being penny wise and pound foolish is not the path you want to be on.

kayaker Loc: Supply, NC

I have done well with Louis Navellier; he has different newsletters to suit your investment style/goals. He also has a free weekly summary e-mail. For investing information/education checkout Investopedia.

Wroley1 Loc: Athens,GA

Thank you everyone! I am not that much of an invetstor. I was really wanting to know specifically if there are any truths to what they say about the changes to your social security and ways to increase it? I have two great pensions and do alright at age 60 but was thinking that I would start drawing my SS at 62 and hope to see 66.5 with a few more dollars in my pocket. That said social security is going to be just a supplement and not very large in spite of the earnings so not sure what they use to figure what you get back.

Hank Radt

I assumed (always a bad thing...) that the OP has some experience in investing. If not, an adviser MAY make sense. But it is not the only alternative.

If you go the adviser route, interview several, find out whether they are fee-based or commission-based (you need to understand how they make money), and get references. While increasingly in the minority (due in part to abuses in the past, which brought on legislation), unfortunately, there are still too many commission-based advisers who tout a particular investment because that makes them - not necessarily you - more money. Even if they recommend something as simple as a mutual fund, you need to know whether it is an A, B or C share (or an I share, which is not available directly to individual investors, but can be acquired through your workplace retirement plan). If you don't know the differences, look them up and read until you do. And if you do engage an adviser, pester them with questions on every recommendation they make - it's your money, and you want to make sure you understand why and how a particular investment is good for you, and what the risks are. The really good advisers have a CFA, but can be pricey and may have minimum required investments beyond what you have available - it is not an easy certification to get; all legitimate advisers will have a Series 6 and a Series 7 (and even then an adviser who touts those vehemently is probably not one you want...these are table stakes in the industry). That said, a good adviser can be worth every penny they earn.

One tried and tested way to make money over time (and investing is a long game - most day traders lose money...) is to invest in low-fee index funds - Vanguard, generally recognized as the leader in this category (but there are other good funds as well), charges 0.05% ($5 annually on $10,000 invested) on its S&P index fund, vs upwards of 1.00% ($100 annually on $10k invested) on more actively managed funds vs. sometimes 2% to 3% for active advice or management of your assets. While a percent or two may not sound like a lot, compound it out over 30 years and see the difference (if you don't know how to do this, there are plenty of resources on line). If you're just starting out, most experts suggest you're better off in index funds than in individual stocks, but don't take my word for it - this is what Warren Buffet and Jim Cramer, among others, recommend - look up what they say and make sure you understand it.

If you have a workplace retirement plan, max that out - employers generally match your investment, up to a limit, which can give you an extra couple % return a year (see compounding) - before you start investing on your own. Most workplace plans have a variety of mutual funds to choose from, generally, but not always, I-shares.

Just to put my cards on the table, I have a degree in finance and have been investing for a couple of decades and even do some limited options trading, so I'm comfortable doing my own research and selecting my own investments.

But whatever you do, read, read, read - and then read some more. Here are some classics, which stand the test of time: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/03/050803.asp. Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor" is the bible (Warren Buffett got his start using this), but it is pretty dense. I particularly like Peter Lynch's "One Up on Wall Street" and another book, not on the list at the link, but which I also like is David Dreman's "Contrarian Investment Strategy."

Hank Radt

OK, just saw this. Look up what Buffett and Cramer say about beginning investors. At this point, the Fool or Barron's might be overkill at least until you've spent time learning the basics and familiarize your self with the lingo. Investopedia, as noted, is a great resource.

RonBoyd

It would be better to ask this question in a financial focused forum... for instance, http://www.early-retirement.org/ (there are plenty of links there to other sites that provide help for your type of query.)

Hank Radt

Agreed.

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

If you do not need SS do not take it at 62. If it is as you say just a supplement. The loss of benefits is significant over time. Take advantage of your great pensions.

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

I have calculated my SS starting at 62 versus 65. I came up with a result that I will break even when I will be 92 years old.

RonBoyd

What are the results if you die at, say 80? ... or 70?

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

Then I would be in negative summary if I did start SS at 65.