Tag Archives: bear market

Commentators almost seem to have been competing to coin the catchiest—or most negative—label for the ten years from the end of 1999 to the end of 2009. It’s not surprising that some have called it the “Decade from Hell,” given …

Like everyone else, I’ve been reading (well, skimming) reams of year-end—and in some places, “decade-end”—economic summaries. There’s lots of talk about black swans, financial “Frankensteins,” lost decades, and fundamental changes in investor behavior.

Black swans are old news, and I’ve …

I elicited some grief from certain Vanguard Blog readers by talking about a recovery in 401(k) accounts earlier this year. Allow me to provide an update on the issue.

Recall my basic premise: As a result of ongoing contributions, …

I realize this will be about my third post on this issue, but the things people are writing about 401(k)s just get more and more absurd, and it’s tough to sit by and let this go unchallenged.

Now the editors …

Each year in August we publish a compendium of statistics about 401(k) plans administered at Vanguard. As the report covers over 3 million American participants, it often generates a lot of interest from the media, policymakers, consultants, and employers. (You’re …

You were getting close to retirement, and you’d thought you’d saved enough.

And then the market tanked.

So, you decided to stick it out and try to regain what you’d lost. Other changes to your portfolio structure or your investing …

Apparently the Rothschilds, the great banking family, had a saying about when to commit capital: “Buy at the sound of cannon; sell at the sound of violins.”

Although they probably were thinking about political instability, the saying has a contemporary …

For retirement investors, the weak 10-year track record of stocks means it’s time to renew a focus on the economics of retirement. The math is pretty simple, at least at a high level:

Contributions (C) + investment returns (R) = …

Federal Reserve data indicate that between January and early May, bank savings deposits rose by almost $170 billion. At the current rate, new deposits for 2009 will exceed those in 2008, which totaled almost $330 billion.

Clearly, you’re voting with …

One of the biggest frustrations for investors is that there is one huge factor no one can control—the returns that the financial markets are going to provide in any given stretch of time.

When we first start investing, we probably …