It’s Friday! And here’s our heading-into-the-weekend collection of interesting reads on investing and personal finance. Enjoy!
Fidelity resets the fee-war bar with zero-expense index funds (Investment News). In the race to zero, Fidelity has gotten there first.
Vanguard Group begins an investing experiment that pushes free ETF trading to its limit (CNBC). Vanguard announced this policy change last month, but now it has taken effect: more than 1,800 ETFs — all free.
Apple is worth $1,000,000,000,000. Two decades ago, it was almost bankrupt. (The New York Times). I can remember when Apple appeared to be on its deathbed. If only I had known then what we all know now! (So says me and just about every other investor.)
30 million people are not withholding enough for taxes. How to tell if you’re one of them (CNBC). The more interesting aspect of this story is that about 100 million filers are having too much withheld.
IRS provides guidance on 529 plans (Investment News). The new regulations relate to K-12 spending from a 529 account, 529 rollovers to ABLE accounts, and tax-free "re-contributions" to a 529 account following a tuition refund.
And from the blogosphere...
Don’t be a stock market hooligan (Tony Isola, A Teachable Moment). If you decide to follow the market on a daily basis, you’re bound to be pretty miserable.
Mean reversion & the placebo effect (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense). Does mean-reversion apply to interest rates too? (Also see Understanding "Regression to the Mean" Helps Manage Expectations from the August SMI newsletter.)
Fed holds rates steady – deposit rate predictions for 2018 (Ken Tumin, Deposit Accounts). Mr. Tumin, a keen observer of the savings-account and CD marketplace, thinks "we may see 4% 5-year CDs by late this year or early next year." Right now, the best 5-year rate is about 3.5%.
Not so predictable (Jonathan Clements, Humble Dollar). Keep in mind about predictions, even sensible ones, that a lot of them turn out to be just plain wrong — or at least premature.
8 times it’s better to buy used (Grow). From workout equipment to musical instruments, buying used can be a great way to get good quality at a reasonable price.
Have a comment? Scroll down slightly and "Join the Discussion" below!