Financial Literacy: Investing After 60

Use our Risk Meter to see whether you share characteristics and behavior traits that have been shown to make some investors vulnerable to investment fraud.

The Fund Analyzer offers information and analysis on over 18,000 mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and exchange traded notes (ETNs). This tool estimates the value of the funds and impact of fees and expenses on your investment, and also allows you to look up applicable fees and available discounts for funds.

Millions of Americans and countless others around the world invest in the U.S. equities markets, some directly, others through pension plans, mutual funds and other vehicles. While some investors rely on investment professionals for advice, others choose to chart their own investment course. But regardless of exactly where they invest and whose advice they seek, FINRA believes all investors should have access to basic educational information about investing.

The New York Fed ensures that banks under our jurisdiction are compliant with consumer protection laws. Banks are also evaluated for their level of performance in meeting their communities’ credit needs under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Investment scams can take many forms—and fraudsters can turn on a dime when it comes to developing new pitches or come-ons for the latest fraud. But while the wrapper or hook might change, the most common securities frauds tend to fall into the following general schemes:

Includes the latest scams which have been reported to the IRS.

Learn and be aware of the latest scams to help you become more confident with online business transactions.

Many state securities and insurance regulators do not allow financial professionals to use a designation—in particular a “senior” designation—unless it has been accredited by either the American National Standards Institute or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

Because many people can expect to spend 20 or 30 years or even longer in retirement, you may decide to keep a percentage of your portfolio invested for growth even as you begin either tapping the income from the assets you’ve accumulated during your working life or dipping into your principal. Continuing to seek growth can help protect you against the possibility of running out of money while you’re still alive. - Module 7: Investing in your Sixties and Beyond

Barry Kaplan says a total-return strategy is simple and dependable. Charles Farrell says a focus on dividends and income is safer.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: all investments involve some degree of risk. If you plan to buy securities – such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds – it’s important that you understand that you could lose some or all of the money you invest.

During our working years, most of us depend upon wages and salary income to meet our living expenses. Then, with retirement, we shift to other sources of income to meet our needs. There are three broad sources for our retirement income: Social Security, private pensions and annuities that pay as long as we live, and our personal investments. In this section, we review some important principles regarding these three components, outline the important features of each, and then provide our views regarding how best to use them.

Most ownership investments are found fairly high in the Pyramid of Investment Risk pyramid (Figure 1). In other words, with the increasing potential for a high rate of return comes a high potential for loss of principal. The specific investments you make can influence how high that risk is. For example, owning a speculative stock has more risk than owning a home in an established neighborhood.

News, analysis and commentary on income-generating investments.

First, they are a good option for conservative investors who are fearful of ownership assets. If the price fluctuations of the stock market are likely to cause sleepless nights, fixed-income investments like bonds are less risky because investors are less likely to lose principal. Most fixed-income securities also provide a predictable stream of income. This can be an advantage for current or near retirees who seek regular income to supplement a pension and/or Social Security.