Here’s our Roundup for an early autumn weekend. We hope you find these articles interesting and helpful.
Your cash earns zip, zilch, nada. Don’t make it worse. (Jason Zweig, MarketWatch via Fidelity). "Fooling yourself into thinking that you can find absolute safety in any asset yielding more than 1% is a terrible idea." [UPDATE: Fidelity deleted this article over the weekend. Here is an alternate link.]
The reach for yield: Is it really worth it? (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense). The above article notwithstanding, certain bank accounts that pay significantly higher interest rates are out there — but be prepared to jump through plenty of hoops. Miss a hoop and you lose.
Schwab completes acquisition of TD Ameritrade (Business Wire). The integration of the two former competitors could take up to three years, so it’s not yet clear what impact the merger will have on SMI members who use Schwab or TDA.
Morgan Stanley to buy Eaton Vance for $7 billion in investment-management push (Reuters). The big keep getting bigger. This deal comes on the heels of Morgan Stanley’s purchase of brokerage firm E-Trade (another of SMI’s recommended brokers).
Apps will get you paid early, for a price (New York Times). I didn’t know "pay-advance apps" were a thing. I suspect this would be more helpful: a new money management app from our friends at MoneyWise.
How Vanguard overhauled a prime money fund (ThinkAdvisor). The changes at Vanguard are "the latest in a series of shifts affecting money market funds...due to near-zero short-term rates."
United we spend (Joel Belz, WORLD). Looking for an issue on which Republicans and Democrats seem to agree? Here it is.
President Trump’s tax returns show he has company: How rich Americans avoid taxes (USA Today). The most interesting thing about this story is that, after publication, the editors had to append two clarifications! (In other words, the U.S. tax code is so convoluted it’s difficult to write about.)
The 3 ways tax-loss harvesting can save you money (Nick Maggiulli, Of Dollars And Data). And speaking of tax strategies...
Freely given: A note on hearts and tax breaks (Fred Smith, National Christian Foundation). Is your desire to be generous being overshadowed by your desire to get a tax break?
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