Daily Money - Make These Year-End Portfolio Moves

Portfolio managers love to talk about “cash on the sidelines.” The phrase conjures images of cash spectating as stocks run up and down the playing field. Adjusting for your age and risk tolerance, you want to have as much of your money as possible rushing for the end zone when stocks are getting ready to score. It’s ok if it gets beat up along the way, as long your time horizon is long enough. (Just make sure you have several months’ worth of expenses parked in the safety of a high-yield savings account.) Since I don’t know much about football, I’ll stop the analogy there. Suffice it to say that year-end is a great time to make sure your portfolio is still aligned with your goals. Learn more about how to do that in today’s edition.

In response to my note last week about year-end financial anxiety, Garey in Alabama wrote in with his smart work-around. He writes, “A few years ago I decided to avoid the year-end panic. What I do now is this: a brief review in February, a deep dive in late April and a final deep dive in October. In April everything is fresh in my mind because of taxes. Then 6 months later it is October. I have found that my financial advisors have more time in October. They are very busy in December and seem to appreciate advance planning.

Of course I have to stay aware of December ups and downs but it is easier to do when 90% of the work has been done.” Nice one, Garey!

And Tina in Colorado wrote in with a smart shipping tip: “If you create an account at USPS.com, and get free priority flat rate boxes or priority mailing envelopes from the post office...you can go online to your USPS account to create a label with the shipping address, pay with your credit card, print the shipping label at home and tape it on the box. The label includes a tracking ID. Then you sashay past the long lines at the post office and put your packages in the parcel bin, no human contact necessary.” Thanks, Tina!

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