The Sapient Investor

Tax-efficient asset location (or asset placement) can add .20% to .75% to after-tax returns every year.

Up to a point, higher yield can imply attractive value. But really huge yields come with outsized risks. If you invest naively based on yield without understand or analyzing the risks, you can get burned. QYLD, with a yield of 10%-12%, is a case in point.

Maybe you have heard of the backdoor Roth and wondered if you should consider one. This article will explain what it is and when to use it.

When you turn 65, you need to sign up for Medicare. This ebooklet will help guide you through the many options you will need to choose from when the time comes.

Many investors are surprised to learn just how much tax they will owe during their retirement years. Roth conversions can help reduce the tax bills.

This article highlights the sectors and industries most sensitive to increases in interest rates using an objective and sophisticated statistical risk model. Some of the winners and losers are different than in past economic recoveries.

Here is my attempt to provide unbiased advice regarding long-term care insurance and other ways you might finance your long-term care expenses. Buying insurance is not likely to be the best option.

Clean energy stock returns led the market by a wide margin in 2020. Given their political support, that momentum seems poised to continue for the long-term. iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN) is the largest and most liquid among the clean energy ETFs, it has nearly the lowest expense ratio, and it is widely diversified to include solar, wind, and other clean energy-related companies. If you are going to have representation in this niche, ICLN is a logical choice.

Now is an excellent time to invest in a homebuilding ETF. Mortgage rates are at all-time lows. The economy is recovering. And demand for housing has surged in the wake of Covid-19. I recommend either iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) or SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) or both.

U.S. investors should have some international exposure for diversification. Here is a fund that has boosted return and lowered risk by hedging foreign currency exposure and tilting toward such winning characteristics as profitability, growth, and value.