The Investor's Newsletter

Good morning Freedom Fighters:

Ask: Please forward this newsletter to at least one person who needs it.

Offer: If you received this newsletter from another, you can subscribe here.

Reminder: I need to push the next live show to May 6th. I may do some shorter live videos randomly between now and then, but my back is not ready to sit in one place for 90 minutes! You can subscribe to the YouTube channel where the show is broadcast here.

3 Things

Delay Social Security? Not Everyone Can Do it (Center for Retirement Research)
For the First Time, Index Funds Face Federal Scrutiny (Morningstar) (Hat Tip to a reader named Michael for bringing this article to my attention!)
Choosing Between Individual Bonds and Bond Funds in Your Investment Portfolio (Retirement Researcher)

My Videos & Articles

Tax-Efficient Retirement Withdrawal Strategies to Combat the RMD Tax Tsunami (Article)
Fidelity vs Vanguard vs Schwab: My Take Having Used All 3 for 20+ Years (Video)
I’ve Retired Three Times; Here Are 5 Things I’ve Learned (Forbes)

ICYMI

Cognitive Dissonance (AQR)
Don’t Bank on the Equity Risk Premium (CFA Institute)
I’m a New Homeowner. An App Called Thumbtack Has Become a Lifesaver for Me (Wired)
AI could make better beer. Here’s how. (MIT Technology Review)
Walking Backward Helps You Move Ahead with Joint Health (Scientific America)

What I'm Reading, Listening To, and Watching

The Law and Economics of Mutual Fund Fees (Stewart L. Brown, PhD, CFA)
Still reading the biography of William Henry Harrison. Almost done!

Resources

Savings Accounts: 5.50% APY (up 15 basis points)
CDs: 3-month (5.42%), 6-month (5.55%), 12-month (5.40%), and No-Penalty (5.15%)
Money Market Accounts: 5.35% APY
Best Bank Bonuses (up to $2,000)

We continue seeing new signup bonuses on personal (including certain airline and hotel credit cards) and business credit cards.

NEW: I gathered data on the FICO score required for small business owners to get a business credit card. I'd love to hear if you think this resource is helpful.

Research: I've added the following resources to the research directory:

J.P. Morgan 2024 Guide to Retirement: Fascinating facts and figures on everything from longevity to claiming Social Security.

Tools: I've added a few new tools to the tools directory:

FidSafe: A free tool from Fidelity to help manage your important documents.

Model Portfolios: I've added a section to my site for model portfolios. So far, it contains the following:

The Warren Buffett Portfolio

Best,

Rob Berger

P.S. To reach me just hit reply. I read every email!

P.P.S. You can find archives of this newsletter here.