Here is our weekly Roundup of worthwhile reads on investing, personal finance, and stewardship — served up a day early this week. (Tomorrow, we’ll post our end-of-month updates for SMI premium-level members who are following the DAA and Sector Rotation strategies.)
More Americans are finally moving cash to online banks for higher interest rates (USA Today). In the past 24 months, 21% of Americans have transferred their money to an online bank that pays at least 2% interest.
Wait, what’s that in my 401(k)? (Christine Benz, Morningstar). Many large 401(k) plans are replacing mutual funds with something called "collective investment trusts."
How does your 401(k) compare to average? (NerdWallet via Yahoo! Finance). The average 401(k) plan includes only 8-to-12 investment options.
Index companies to feel the chill of fund managers’ price war (Financial Times via Twitter). Index funds are driving down costs (and cutting expense ratios) by creating their own benchmarks, rather than continuing to license indexes from S&P Dow Jones, MSCI and FTSE Russell. (Note: Article is behind paywall unless you use the Times’ Twitter link.)
Finally, students can comparison shop the cost of their college majors (MarketWatch). A helpful "sidebar" for our June issue cover story, Is a College Education Still Worth the Investment?
And from the pundits and bloggers...
Should you pay off your mortgage early? Yep! Here are 6 strategies to pull it off! (Philip Taylor, Part-Time Money). Well, maybe you should and maybe you shouldn’t. This piece makes a compelling case for payoff, while also fairly presenting the other side of the argument.
Not efficient, but effective (Nick Maggiulli, Of Dollars and Data). When it comes to financial strategies, the most mathematically efficient approach isn’t always the most suitable.
Wealth is the stuff you can’t see (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense). Buying as much stuff as the next guy is a big obstacle to building wealth.
Financing college tuition with student loans vs. "equity” via an income share agreement (Derek Tharp, Kitces.com). Instead of borrowing money, as is commonly done, the student agrees to pay the school a percentage of his or her future earnings for a certain period of time. (Note: This is a rather technical article, written primarily for financial planners.)
10 money tips for graduates (Craig Ford, SeedTime). A re-post of a piece written a few years ago — still timely, however, because it’s timeless.
Have thoughts on any of these Money Roundup selections? Weigh in below in the comments section.
