Just because you want to earn decent returns doesn’t mean you’re stuck investing in stocks if you don’t want to. It is quite possible to build a well-diversified portfolio of non stock assets, without giving up the pursuit for meaningful returns and settling for the low rates offered by CDs and bonds. That’s the theme […]
Category: Model Portfolio
Asset-Backed Notes
Asset-backed note is a generic term for a class of debt instruments that offer a rate of interest to investors, in exchange for the use of their capital for some period of time. The easiest way to get the sense of these, is to think of them in terms of what they are not. We’ll […]
Rentals
Many people consider real estate to be the original alternative investment. Although there are certainly ways to speculate using real estate, for most long-term investors the goal is current income with the possibility of steady appreciation over the life of the holding. Rents are property specific, which creates a very effective diversifying mechanism. Rental payments […]
Fixed Indexed Annuities
FIAs are insurance company contracts specifically designed for an exact purpose: give savers the chance to benefit when the stock market rises, but protect them from losses if the market falls. That goal is possible because of guarantee features which insurance companies are legally permitted to use, but which investment companies (such as mutual fund […]
Life Settlement Contracts
A Life Settlement is the name for the contract by which an investor purchases an in-force life insurance policy from the current owner. In most cases, the policy owner is also the insured person. The benefit to the seller is receipt of cash today, versus some unknown future point. The benefit to the buyer is […]
Asset-Based LTC
Asset-based long-term care insurance (ABLTC) is a hybrid approach, between self-insuring and purchasing a conventional, indemnity-style LTC policy. This type of contract was developed for those who do not want to have to bear the full force of paying for care costs out of pocket, but who also do not want to pay years of […]