2018
It's here: the 2018 edition of the Texas Investor Guide: Strategies for Investing Wisely and Avoiding Financial Fraud.
As always, the new Investor Guide is fully updated to provide you with the latest information for smart and safe investing.
The 2018 edition includes new material on finding a financial professional you can trust, updated information on simple-to-assemble investment portfolios — after all, investing shouldn't be as complicated as putting together something from Ikea — new ripped-from-the-headlines case studies of investment fraud, and an expanded glossary.
To receive free copies, provide a mailing address to Robert Elder, Communications & Investor Education, relder@ssb.texas.gov.
Since 2011, more than 40,000 Texans have received the Investor Guide. Readers have praised its no-nonsense approach and breadth of information about the time-tested principles of investing. There's no jargon, no fads.
The Investor Guide is more important than ever because learning about investment is more important than ever. Traditional pensions are dwindling like polar ice caps, and there is the possibility that Social Security may increasingly replace less of the income a retiree earned while working. If you are investing for retirement, you may be doing so through a Individual Retirement Account or a 401(k) or other workplace plan where you are responsible for investment decisions.
The Investor Guide cuts through financial clutter by explaining:
- Investing for growth – although investing always carries risk, it’s hard to achieve your financial goals otherwise;
- The basics of mutual funds, including target date funds, and how to invest in them;
- Asset classes such as stocks, bonds, CDs, real estate, and cash, and how they generally differ in risk and performance;
- Understanding and controlling the cost of investments;
- Examples of simple, easy-to-assemble investment portfolios that help you strike a balance between risk and return;
- Putting together the pieces of a secure retirement, including IRAs, 401(k)s, and knowing the strategies of claiming Social Security benefits;
- Avoiding scams and high-risk investments, with details on some of the most outrageous cases we have prosecuted; and
- How to increase the odds of finding a financial professional you can trust.