Some preretirement foul-ups to avoid

By Barry Glassman, CNBC

The years just before retiring, when you're in your 50s and 60s, are the most critical to having a successful retirement. Typically, these are your peak earning years, when many of your larger expenses—such as buying a home or funding your children's college educations—are finished.

But as you take the final turn before retirement, there can be challenges to having enough money to live on when you stop working. Younger people have time on their side to catch up or recover from poor choices or unfortunate circumstances. In later years, time may not be the only thing you're running out of. You may not have the same opportunities to restart at this age.

Here are some things to avoid when you're in your final preretirement years, because the outcome is all too often financial disaster.

1. Spending too much. Many people in their 50s and early 60s enjoy earning more money than ever before in their careers. With the kids in or finishing college and equity sitting in their homes, there is more disposable income and more time to spend it.

A lot of families end up going one of two routes: either spending freely on many things they perhaps denied themselves before—such as expensive trips, dining out frequently and shopping trips—or remaining focused on building up their nest eggs to make sure they'll have enough when they retire.

It's not hard to guess which ones end up in trouble. People who increase their spending along with their income instead of saving those extra dollars for a retirement that may last 30 years can end up running out of money down the road.

2. Using accumulated assets to fund spending. Even worse than spending most or all of a paycheck to live a high lifestyle is spending down accumulated savings while still working. Many people see this pool of assets sitting there and find it tempting to tap the portfolio for the new car or that trip to Europe. It's easy to justify taking some of your savings for things you may have denied yourself over the years. But living beyond your means, relative to your income—especially when you are in your final years before retirement—rarely ends well.

3. Not having a retirement plan. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people just don't have a retirement plan. You must take the time to consider what your retirement will look like. So many people really don't know if they have enough money set aside for retirement or understand what amount they will need to save while still working. Without a plan, how will you know if you have enough?

Once you begin your retirement, it's just too late. At that point, the only thing left to do is alter your lifestyle and cut expenses.

4. Turning recurring income into a recurring liability. This situation the "lottery winner's folly." Most lottery winners go bankrupt because, rather than saving and investing their winnings, they buy high-priced toys that not only depreciate but come with hefty annual expenses as well. That's the boat or the equine hobbies.

Not only is money being taken out of a portfolio that could grow and provide income but the purchases will decrease in value and come with added costs—so it's a double whammy. Reducing income and adding expense is a disastrous combination for most retirees' portfolios.

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Don’t Let New Highs Scare You Away From Stocks

As the S&P 500 breaks out into a new high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average making a run at 17,000, fund investors shouldn’t start second guessing their equity exposure.

Some may worry about the next market turn after the equity markets hit new highs, but investors should remember that markets typically rise to new highs over time, writes John Waggoner for CNBC. If you sold at each high, you could miss out on further gains.

For instance, investors who sold off at the last market all-time high on March 28, 2013 would have missed a 25% rally.

Sam Stovall, managing director of U.S. equity strategy at S&P Capital IQ, points out that new highs are a hallmark of a mature bull market.

Year-to-date, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF is up 3.1%, SPDR S&P 500 rose 6.9% and NASDAQ increased 6.3%. On Friday, the S&P 500 and Dow indices both broke new intra-day highs.

According to S&P Capital IQ data, the average bull market spends about 7% of its life at all-time highs, and so far, the current bull market has spent 5% of its time at all-time highs. Over the long-term, bull markets, like those experienced in the 1980s and 1990s, hovered about 12% and 13% of the time at all-time highs.

Looking at company earnings, Stovall calculates that the S&P 500 has reached their estimate for 2014, but he also estimates that the markets still have another 7.5% to go over the next 12 months.

Nevertheless, there are some good reasons to sell or at least trim an equity position. For instance, investors who have reached their target investment goal can dial back equity positions and shift over to income generating options. Additionally, after the recent rally in stocks, you might be overweight equities. Investors can also rebalance their portfolios to put their overall equity and fixed-income allocations back in line.

Investors who are more risk-adverse by nature can also consider letting their cash levels build up instead of investing into the markets. This way an investor can also save up for a rainy day and buy at the end of the next bear market.

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Muni Nation: Green Grass and High Tides

By James Colby, Market Vectors

As we continue to ride the 2014 performance wave in the municipal bond market, a colleague suggested that I address one important cause of 2013′s poor performance: defaults.

I believe the price decline and outflows from municipal bond mutual funds, separate accounts, and ETFs were caused in part by the City of Detroit’s Chapter 9 filing, downgrades of Puerto Rico, and downgrades of various other key issuers. However, according to the May 2014 update to the Moody’s annual study, “U.S. Municipal Bond Default and Recoveries 1970-2013,” I believe the municipal marketplace has been remarkably resilient.

Consider the following, according to Moody’s:

The number of municipal bond issuer defaults has increased since the financial crisis in 2008, but default rates among such issuers generally remain low relative to corporate issuers.

Municipal issuer recovery rates are trending lower than they’ve been in the recent past and are more variable in range than corporate issuer recoveries; yet municipal recoveries are still higher than corporate recoveries.

Financially, governments are generally stabilizing, but Moody’s expects some to remain pressured in the absence of a strong economic rebound.

Moody’s expects municipal bond issuer defaults to generally remain few in number.

Furthermore, according to the study, “Municipal issuer downgrades have outpaced upgrades over any 12-month period for every monthly cohort since 2009.” This suggests to me the struggle our general economy has endured since the financial crisis of 2008. However, on the bright side, Moody’s notes, “Such deterioration in credit quality seems to have stabilized since mid-2012.” The analysis is done in the context of only issues they rate, and therefore, the assertion that there have been only 30 defaults (among rated issuers) since 2008 understates the true amount, which would include those issuers without ratings.

To look deeper, I turn to Municipal Market Advisors’ (MMA’s) default study, which, although only four years old, reveals a declining pattern of downgrades and defaults, and also covers issuers who are not rated by any of the services. MMA states in the February 2014 edition of “Municipal Insights,” “It appears fewer issuers with ongoing impairments are falling into default now; many of the most vulnerable bond-financed projects have already defaulted; current economic challenges are somewhat less severe than in prior years; and/or capital market solutions are now more available.”

MMA’s study indicates that the number of defaulting issuers it has identified has declined from 107 in 2012, to 64 in 2013, and to 19 through the end of May 2014. This is evidence, I believe, of a potentially confidence-building trend for the asset class.

All of the above is but one element of consideration for municipal asset allocators, but, in my opinion, the municipal bond fund flows seem supportive of the recent emergence of interest from investors.

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The D2 Capital Management Tax Free Income Portfolio is currently yielding 4.84% (Trailing 12 month Tax Equivalent Yield at 28% Tax Bracket, as of 18 June 2014).

The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

A Wonderful Real Estate Investment Trust Fund

By Tom Lydon, ETF Trends

Relief in the form of this year’s 12% decline in 10-year Treasury has lifted real estate investment trusts (REITs) and the corresponding exchange traded funds.

A predictable beneficiary of that trend has been the Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ), the largest U.S. REIT exchange traded fund (ETF). Signs of a recovering U.S. economy and falling interest rates have been stoking investor interest in REIT ETFs. Only three ETFs have taken in more new assets this than the marketweight-rated VNQ. The fund is up nearly 15% year-to-date.

Rapidly approaching $24 billion in assets under management, VNQ is not just the largest REIT, but the eleventh-largest U.S. ETF overall. As is the case with many Vanguard ETFs, VNQ has gained denizens of loyal followers due to an expansive lineup and low fees.

Fees are crucial in the evaluation of REIT ETFs because VNQ and its primary competitors usually feature top-10 lineups that mirror each other. VNQ charges just 0.1% per year, making it less expensive than 92% of rival funds, according to Vanguard.

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The Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) is a component of the D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio.  Current yield on the portfolio is 5.17% and year to date the portfolio is up 9.99% (as of 18 June 2014).

Disclosure:  I own the D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio

The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Conflict in Iraq: What Rising Oil Prices Mean for the Economy & Investors

By Russ Koesterich, Chief Investment Strategist for BlackRock and iShares Chief Global Investment Strategist

For much of 2014, stocks advanced despite disturbing world news headlines. However, that changed last week, as U.S. stocks slipped amid news of the escalating violence in Iraq.

Why the different stock market reaction? The events in Iraq pose a greater risk for markets than earlier 2014 geopolitical turmoil because there is a clear link between the conflict in Iraq and the global economy: energy prices.

Oil prices spiked last week as sectarian violence escalated in Iraq, a country producing more than 3 million barrels of oil per day, at a time when production has already been falling in many other parts of the Middle East, neutralizing the benefit of surging North American oil production. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. oil benchmark, traded above $107 per barrel, while Brent Crude, the global benchmark, hit approximately $114 per barrel.

While a short-term spike in oil prices due to declining production in northern Iraq is not a major threat, a prolonged price rise would put additional pressure on the global economy, including on U.S. consumers, who are still operating in a mode of caution.

As of early this week, the violence in Iraq showed no sign of abating and it appeared that the crisis in the Middle East isn’t likely to be resolved quickly.

Perhaps even more importantly, in addition to the short-term impact on oil production, the insurgency in Iraq and civil war in Syria have the potential to dramatically alter national boundaries in in the Middle East.

In other words, there may be longer-term implications and potentially significant changes to international borders. Under this scenario, energy prices may remain elevated for a prolonged period of time, which could add additional pressure to several major economies, including the United States, China and India.

As for what this means for investors, higher oil prices, coupled with still reasonable valuations in the energy sector, support a continued overweight to energy stocks. At the same time, higher oil and gas prices represent yet another headwind for a U.S. consumer already struggling with slow wage growth and high personal debt. In a world of modest growth and a strapped consumer, I believe a cautious view toward consumer stocks is warranted.

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Inherited IRAs Not Protected In Bankruptcy

By Deborah Jacobs, Forbes

When is an IRA not a “retirement” account?

The U.S. Supreme Court answered that riddle recently and resolved a key question that has lingered for nearly a decade: Are funds in an inherited IRA protected in bankruptcy? The answer was a unanimous, “No.”

In an opinion with far-reaching implications, the Court found that Heidi Heffron-Clark, who inherited an IRA from her mother in 2001 and filed for bankruptcy nine years later, could not shield the account from her creditors.

The Court’s analysis turned on key legal distinctions between inherited IRAs and those that you set up and fund yourself, either through annual contributions or by rolling over assets from a company plan.

Several features make inherited IRAs unique and suggest that they are not retirement assets, the Court noted. Unlike IRA owners, inheritors can’t put additional funds into the account, and they can take out money at any time without penalty. In fact, generally, non-spousal IRA heirs must either withdraw the entire account balance within five years of the original owner’s death, or take out a minimum amount each year, starting by Dec. 31 of the year after the IRA owner died.

This whole system is different from the one that applies to IRA owners, which is designed to ensure that they will have money available during retirement, and therefore justifies protection of those assets during bankruptcy, the Court noted.

Money in IRA accounts (or employer sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s) will not normally be covered by a will. Instead, an IRA inheritance is given out according to beneficiary designation forms that you fill out when you open the accounts or later amend.

Most notably the decision has important ramifications for spouses. A spouse who inherits–let’s assume it’s the wife–has an option not available to other inheritors. She can roll the assets into her own IRA and postpone distributions from a traditional IRA until she turns 70½. The catch is, like other IRA owners she may have to pay a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if she takes money before age 59½ from her own IRA, as explained here.

Unless she does the rollover, however, the account is considered an inherited IRA. She would not have to take any money out until her late spouse would have turned 70½. But under today’s decision those assets would not seem to be protected in bankruptcy. So spouses now have one more reason, in addition to income tax benefits, to do a rollover.

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Munis: A Less-Taxing Alternative

By Richard Moroney, Editor Dow Theory Forecasts

When comparing muni bonds to taxable bonds, we typically adjust the stated yield based on the highest individual income-tax rate (39.6%) to compute a tax-equivalent yield comparable to the stated pretax yields of taxable bonds.

Even without their tax advantages, munis look better than usual relative to other bonds. As of May 29, The Bond Buyer's 20-Bond Index of municipals yielded 4.26% (equating to a tax-equivalent yield of 7.05%), down from 4.73% at the start of the year, but roughly in line with the five-year average of 4.25%.

The current yield lags the 20-year average of 4.91%, no surprise given the Fed's anchoring of the yield curve at the short end.

At the moment, municipal bonds look somewhat expensive relative to their 20-year average yield. However, Treasury and corporate yields have fallen more sharply from long-run averages, making munis appear cheap in comparison.

Our take: We prefer stocks to bonds for the year ahead. But if bonds make sense for you, municipals look like a wise choice—assuming you keep your bonds in a taxable account and can take full advantage of munis' tax protection.

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The D2 Capital Management Tax Free Income Portfolio is currently yielding 4.84% (Trailing 12 month Tax Equivalent Yield at 28% Tax Bracket, as of 11 June 2014).

The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Tech, Dividend Funds to Capture Goldman’s ‘Pockets of Opportunity’

By Tom Lydon, ETF Trends

With the equities markets touching new highs, most U.S. stocks are hovering at or above fair value.

However, exchange traded fund investors can still find opportunities in technology and dividend investments.

“The valuation of the market is at the higher end of a range of fair value and it’s pretty consistent with what we’ve seen, in terms of economic data, broadly speaking, getting better,” David Kostin, chief U.S. strategist at Goldman Sachs, said in a CNBC report.

Given the outlook for everything from economic growth the the narrow dispersion of stock returns and valuations, Kostin argues that stock pickers will have a harder time singling out bets.

“Everything’s basically in a very tight cluster and that suggests again there’s less stock picking opportunities,” Kostin said. “It’s just a more challenging market.”

Alternatively, the strategist suggests that investors should look for “pockets of opportunity” through thematic investments. Specifically, equity traders should increase risk with the tech sector, “the most attractively valued part of the market,” or dividend-paying companies that have returned cash to shareholders.

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The D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio is overweight in dividend funds.  One of its holdings is First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV).  Current yield on the portfolio is 5.17% and year to date the portfolio is up 9.51% (as of 10 June 2014).

Disclosure:  I own the D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio

The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Dividend Stocks, Funds Outperforming S&P 500

By Todd Shriber, ETF Trends

When biotechnology, Internet and other momentum stocks were in favor during the first two months of this year, dividend payers lagged. Even with U.S. stocks recently hitting all-time highs, dividend payers are back to outperforming the S&P 500.

“We noted in an early March post that dividend payers in the S&P 500 Index were under performing the non payers by over 6% during the first two months of 2014. Near that same time the market was beginning a transition out of momentum and growth stocks into value oriented equities. As fate would have it, many dividend payers screen as value type stocks,” said Horan Capital Advisors.

“As a result, since the end of February, the dividend payers have significantly outperformed their non dividend paying counterparts in the S&P 500 Index. As the below table shows, the dividend payers are now outperforming the non payers by nearly 4%. This is a nearly a 10% swing in just three months.”

It is not just funds focusing on high-yield stocks that have been outpacing the broader market. Funds with varying approaches to income and investing have also been soaring. For example, the First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV) is up 9.7% since March 3rd.

The average payout increase from Apple, IBM, Cisco and Qualcomm this year is almost 14%. that does not include an increase from Microsoft, which usually delivers in the second half of the year. Microsoft’s last two dividend increases were 21.7% and 15%, respectively.

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The D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio is overweight in dividend funds.  One of its holdings is First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV).  Current yield on the portfolio is 5.18% and year to date the portfolio is up 9.56%.

Disclosure:  I own the D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio

The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Americans' Wealth Hits Record

By Neil Shah, Wall Street Journal

Americans' wealth hit a fresh record in the first quarter amid a rise in home values and stock prices, a trajectory poised to continue as U.S. markets push higher but one that doesn't necessarily figure to rev up the sluggish recovery.

The net worth of U.S. households and nonprofit organizations—the value of homes, stocks and other assets minus debts and other liabilities—rose roughly 2%, or about $1.5 trillion, between January and March to $81.8 trillion, the highest on record, according to a report by the Federal Reserve released Thursday. The figures aren't adjusted for inflation or population growth.

Economists are hoping improvements in household balance sheets could help propel an economy that wobbled early this year when an unusually harsh winter took a bite out of growth.

The U.S. stock market rose in the first quarter, with the broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index nudging up about 1% after a 30% gain last year. Real-estate values also rebounded strongly last quarter, helping spread the benefits of the nation's economic improvements. The value of stocks and mutual funds owned by households rose $361 billion last quarter, while the value of residential real estate grew more than twice that, $751 billion, according to the Fed.

For many Americans, housing is the most important financial asset. As real-estate values rise, Americans are gaining more equity in their homes, which makes it easier to sell them, refinance debts, borrow and spend.

Another positive sign in Thursday's report: Americans are feeling a little more comfortable about borrowing.

Overall household borrowing rose in the first quarter. While mortgage debt shrank, other types of consumer credit, including student loans, grew.

After years of digging out from heavy debts assumed during the boom years, Americans are now finding their debt burdens easing. Total U.S. household debt was about 108% of disposable income in the first quarter, down from a peak burden of roughly 135% in 2007.

A more manageable debt burden, along with rising levels of equity in homes, could prompt American households to borrow and spend more at a time when unemployment remains high and wages are only starting to rise after years in the doldrums.

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Global Dividend Income Fund

By Todd Shriber, ETF Trends

As investors look to add international diversity to and boost the income-generating capabilities of their portfolios, global dividend stocks and exchange traded funds are receiving more attention.

While foreign dividend stocks across multiple sectors often sport higher yields than their U.S. counterparts from the same sectors, some global dividend ETFs really ratchet up the yield. The First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD) is a prime example.

FGD has a trailing 12-month yield of about 4.3%, the byproduct of a several important factors. First, the fund allocates over 37% of its combined weight to the telecom and utilities. Just as they are here in the U.S., those sectors have high-yield reputations in other developed markets.

Second, FGD devotes a combined 28% of its country weight to Australia and the U.K., two of the best ex-U.S. developed markets dividends payers. The U.S. is the ETF’s largest country weight at 16.7%. Although the U.S. is the biggest dividend-paying market in the world, the potency of mixing in Australian and British dividends should not be underestimated.

“British listed companies paid $102. 1 billion in dividends last year, and since 2009 have paid roughly $441 billion,” The Independent reported.

Although interest rates down under are low by Australia’s standards, rates there are high relative to much of the developed world, which juices the yields on the country’s stocks. Australian companies paid $40.3 billion in dividends last year, nearly double the amount paid in 2013.

FGD also offers some exposure to an improving dividend scenario in the Eurozone as France, Germany, Spain and Finland combine for about 22% of the ETF’s weight.

If there is a drawback to FGD, it is easy to spot: The large, combined weight to telecom and utilities, even if mainly of the foreign variety, implies some of level of vulnerability to rising interest rates. High-yield stocks, particularly from those sectors, are seen as sensitive to rising interest rates.

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First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD) is a component of the D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio.  The portfolio's current yield is 5.18% (as of 4 June 2014).

Disclosure:  I own the D2 Capital Management Multi-Asset Income Portfolio

The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Global Trends in Computing and Mobile Devices

These graphics prepared by Mary Meeker, formerly a broker at Merrill Lynch and an internet analyst at Morgan Stanley.  Now Mary is an analyst at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Smartphone use is booming:

Tablets are growing faster than personal computers ever did:

25% of all internet usage is now done through mobile devices:

Each new technology device attracts roughly ten times more usage than the previous device:

Mobile devices now sell 4 to 5 times more than TVs and personal computers:

25% of global internet traffic is through mobile devices:

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

This chart may make you less worried about U.S. stocks

By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Recent bearish calls might make you worried about the U.S. stock market, which is more than five years into its bull run that began in March 2009.

But a chart created by Morningstar Inc., the Chicago-based investment research firm, shows bull markets often have lasted for more than five years.

The chart, which illustrates the S&P 500’s performance through many U.S. recessions and expansions, has been getting attention on Twitter this month. Here it is:

The bull market that ended with the financial crisis lasted 61 months, according to Morningstar’s chart, but the two prior runs were 153 months and 155 months long. In other words, stocks were in an uptrend for more than 12 years.

The chart also shows that bear markets are relatively quick, with the last two lasting 16 months and 25 months, respectively.

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The views expressed here are that of myself or the cited individual or firm and do not constitute a recommendation, solicitation, or offer by myself, D2 Capital Management, LLC or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. D2, its clients, and its employees may or may not own any of the securities (or their derivatives) mentioned in this article.

 The Jacksonville Business Journal has ranked D2 Capital Management in the top 25 of Certified Financial Planners in Jacksonville.  The Firm is also a member of the Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, the Southside Businessmen's Club, and the Beaches Business Association. 

Muni Bond Funds Moment in the Limelight

By Tom Lydon, ETF Trends

After the Detroit’s bankruptcy hindered demand, municipal bonds, along with related muni bond funds, are posting robust gains on huge inflows.

According to Lipper data, muni funds have gathered $3.1 billion in assets this year, a stark shift after the $39.9 billion pulled from muni funds over the last 31 weeks of 2013, reports Aaron Kuriloff for the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, yields on muni debt dipped to 2.325% Wednesday, its lowest in almost a year.

Municipal bonds have been one of the best performing assets this year. Munis returned 5.869% in 2014, including interest payments and price appreciation, compared to the 5.769% return on investment-grade corporate debt, 3.3% for the S&P 500 and 2.982% on Treasuries.

High-yield municipal bonds have jumped 9.332% year-to-date, according to Barclays data.

The rising federal tax rates are making tax-exempt municipal bonds more attractive for investors.

“I don’t think the need for tax-exempt income ever went away, and there appears to be pent-up demand,” John Miller, co-head of fixed income at Nuveen Asset Management LLC,said in the article.

Some predict that munis have further room to gain as new muni issuance fall short of rising demand. Vikram Rai, a fixed-income strategist at Citigroup Inc., estimates that issuance will fall to $280 billion this year, from $334 billion in 2013.

“The primary market supply is very anemic and that’s really driving down yields (and driving up prices),” Rai said in the article.

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The D2 Capital Management Tax Free Income Portfolio is currently yielding 4.58% (Trailing 12 month Tax Equivalent Yield at 28% Tax Bracket, as of 30 May 2014).

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