Interest rates have been falling since the early 1980s to their current all-time low levels. Unfortunately for investors in fixed income interest rates could always fall further. There’s nothing stopping U.S. bond yields from going negative as they have in other developed countries all across the globe.

Investors in fixed-income assets basically have two choices in this environment: (1) You can adjust your return expectations accordingly by planning for lower returns in bonds than investors have become accustomed to; or (2) You can invest in riskier bonds or bond funds that pay a higher yield, such as corporates, mortgage-backed securities…

Originally posted Jan’20– It’s a new year and a new decade. For investors, it’s a time to think about your investments and savings for retirement. What can you can do right now that will have the greatest impact your financial future? Is there a company or companies who stocks are poised for a decade of big gains? Or a certain sector destined to take-off? Perhaps. But, there is a more certain and safer path to improving your long-term wealth.

An Overlooked Asset

Diversify. Diversify. Diversify. We’ve all heard this many times. Yet most investors typically hold just two asset classes: stocks and bonds…

The yield curve inverted in March 2019. Remember? Considering that this financial irregularity has preceded every economic recession in the last 60 years — this was pretty big news. Many news articles written in the late spring and summer of 2019 detailed what would happen next. According to Credit Suisse, in the 18 months following the inversion the market rallies more than 15% on average. Then sequential losses can start to add up and recession hits an average of 22 months after the inversion. I wondered at the time if these predictions would come to fruition. …

Why Real Estate in the First Place?

Many high-net worth investors and financial experts consider real estate to be the ideal investment — specifically commercial multifamily real estate. One such investor even wrote a book detailing why and went as far as entitling it The Perfect Investment[1]. Similarly, a new study found housing has been the world’s best investment for the last 150 years.

Unlike your home, commercial real estate is a true investment owned for the primary purpose of appreciation and financial return. (“Buying a home doesn’t make you an investor any more than buying groceries makes you a chef.” …

The fundamental principles of investing and saving for retirement are outdated and no longer work. People are living much longer, which means greater savings post-work will be needed. Interest rates have persistently declined for almost the last 40 years. Going forward they are expected to decline even further. Low rates fundamentally erode the premise of relying on stocks and bonds for a secure financial future. Yet for most people — even wealthier individuals — the way we invest for the future has not changed. But there is a better way. If you are not familiar with multifamily real estate I…

For decades investors have planned for retirement based on a fundamental saving principle that no longer holds true. Most investors have not fully grasped the negative effects that extremely low interest rates will have on their retirement. Savvy informed investors now realize that there is a better and more reliable path to financial security and creating generational wealth.

Low Interest Rates Are a Big Problem.

For well over a century Americans have been taught that saving for retirement has meant building a portfolio of roughly 60% stocks and 40% bonds over the course of our working life. The premise was that stock values might fluctuate in the…

Now that the yield curve has inverted, the “R” word has been all over the news.

Despite all the talk of a slowing economy and a possible recession the economic fundamentals for multifamily real estate to remain strong:

• Unemployment remains at record lows
• Rent growth remains strong and supply of multifamily is limited
• Interest rates are set to remain low for a long time
• Most multifamily deals have positive cash flow day one

A slow-down or even a recession will not change all this[1]. At OpenPath we remain confident in our proven model: focus on quality properties in growing metros…

Is your financial advisor really an advisor or actually a broker? What’s the difference? A true financial advisor has a fiduciary duty to their clients that requires that they put their clients’ interests ahead of their own.

Dealer-brokers are required only to insure that their recommendations are “suitable” for their clients. So you’re going to get steered into products/investments that maybe OK (although not necessarily the best) for you, but are also beneficial to your advisor’s firm.

One way to know which kind of wealth manager you are working with is to look at how they charge for their services…