I smiled into the bright spotlight, as I do every time I see the lights because the cameras are rolling. The only problem was, I was in the dentist office and about to get a root canal (no kidding, I got a root canal in the morning and I’m writing this blog in the afternoon). You know you’ve been on television a lot when you smile into any light that shines on your face. And as for the root canal, well let’s just say I wasn’t smiling for long!
Why the media blitz? For one thing, I’m happily promoting Lean Body, Fat Wallet my new book about the health-wealth connection with co-author Danna Demetre. But another reason is that people want to know what to do with their money in 2014. So here’s my investment blog that may help.
The first thing to remember is that before you invest in the market make sure that you:
1) Pay down consumer debt
2) Build up your 401(k)
3) Build up a 6 to 9 months savings account for a rainy day
4) Fund a ROTH IRA (or regular IRA if you can’t open a ROTH)
5) Plan for Retirement (read my retirement blogs at: FIAInsights
Realize before you invest in the market that there is risk associated with that kind of investment and there are no guarantees you will make money. If you want ot diversify your portfolio, you can protect a portion of your assets in a Fixed Indexed Annuity which is a insurance plan for retirement that is uniquely designed to moderate risk by increasing when the market’s rise but protect you from the market’s decline.
Diversifying Your Portfolio
|
Asset Allocation for Long Haul |
||
| Your Investment Attitude | Bond Allocation (%) | Stock Allocation (%) |
| Play it safe | =Age | =100-age |
| Middle of the Road | =Age – 10 | =110-age |
| Aggressive | =Age – 20 | =120-age |
| Example: Conservative,Middle of the Road 35 year old | =35 – 10 = 25% in bonds | =110 – 35 = 75% in Stocks |
Investment Tips in Media
- Tech Sector – INTC (Intel Corporation) , AAPL (apple) , HPQ (Hewlett Packard)
- Big banks – WFC (Wells Fargo), JPM (JP Morgan), C (Citigroup)
- Large Cap Financials – balanced ETF – ticker: XLF (Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund)
- Broad based stock – balanced ETF – ticker: SPY (getting a little expensive but still a good value relative to corporate yields). (S&P 500)
- Not interested in buying long-term treasuries (e.g., 10-year UST—US Treasury) unless yields go above 3.5%.
My picks for 2014 would be:
C – Citigroup
CNQ – Canadian Natural Resource
DE – Deere and Company
GM – General Motors
INTC – Intel Corporation
MET – Met Life
SPG – Simon Property Group
These picks are based on a variety of factors. Bottom line: They all have “cheap valuations” COMPARED to the entire market. In addition, I’m leveraging my conviction that the economy will reach “escape velocity” in 2014 (GDP Growth) and am picking some stocks primed for the potential recovery!
Let me know some of your investment strategies for 2014.
Happy Investing!
Ellie Kay
America’s Family Financial Expert ®
