Bellmore Group Management Services, Tokyo Japan

Making sure you have enough wealth through old age used to be simpler. The idea behind pensions was that your employer would guarantee you a set payout once you retired and handle the investing decisions required to grow the money you would eventually receive. But the pension safety net is full of holes. For one, fewer and fewer employees have access to them: The proportion of private workers covered by them fell from 38% in 1980 to just 20% in 2008. And even if you are lucky enough to have a pension, there's no guarantee you'll actually get the funds at retirement age: That's because unrealistic expectations on investment returns have emptied the reserves of the federal program protecting pensions from losses. With pensions shrinking, the 401(k) has become the preferred investment vehicle of choice: It puts the onus of retirement savings equally on both the employer and employee (assuming matching contributions); and leaves investing decisions to the employer....

A cottage industry of asset managers, financial advisors and investment can give you their takes on how to be just like Warren Buffett. You can skip the circus of wannabes and hear from the Oracle of Omaha directly in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway a shareholder, which was published Saturday. In his most recent letter, Buffett praised the virtues of index funds, railed against the steep fees hedge fund managers charge and said "investors who avoid high and unnecessary costs and simply sit for an extended period with a collection of large, conservatively-financed American businesses will almost certainly do well." You don't have to be a stock-picking whiz to benefit from his success. Buffett has already detailed three ways to emulate him in your retirement portfolio. The two-fund portfolio Buffett outlined an investing strategy for ordinary investors in his 2013 annual shareholder letter: My advice to the trustee could not be more simple...

Risk and reward are inextricably intertwined, and therefore, risk is inherent in all financial instruments . As a consequence, wise investors seek to minimize risk as much as possible without diluting the potential rewards. Warren Buffett, a recognized stock market investor, reportedly explained his investment philosophy to a group of Wharton Business School students in 2003: “I like to go for cinches. I like to shoot fish in a barrel. But I like to do it after the water has run out.” Reducing all of the variables affecting a stock investment is difficult, especially the following hidden risks. 1. Volatility Sometimes called “market risk” or “involuntary risk,” volatility refers to fluctuations in price of a security or portfolio over a year period. All securities are subject to market risks that include events beyond an investor’s control. These events affect the overall market, not just a single company or industry. They include the following: · Geopoli...