The first baby boomer started collecting Social Security payments in late 2007, signaling a long and powerful wave of Americans born from 1946 to 1964 marching toward retirement.
As a cohort with more concentrated spending power than any other, baby boomers can't help but significantly impact the economy and the investment landscape.
If you are approaching retirement age, the choices you make will affect your finances for 20 years or more, as the average life expectancy for baby boomers is 83 years and climbing.
Here are 10 investments -- some specific types of securities or other assets, others account vehicles -- you should consider:
Treasurys
Any consideration of high-quality retirement investments could start and end here. Treasurys are the ultimate in safe, reliable investing. Their yields are often considered the benchmark of safety.The U.S. government has never defaulted on a Treasury bond, making them a beacon for investors all over the world. However you acquire them -- via mutual funds, exchange-traded funds or the purchase of individual bonds -- Treasurys should have a prominent weighting in your investment portfolio.
Similarly, corporate and municipal bonds are solid investments, though the default rates are higher. Research may be required by the investor to evaluate their suitability.
Certificates of deposit
Certificates of deposit often carry a higher yield than Treasurys with comparable maturities. With CDs, you have the feel-good factor of giving your money to a bank, and your savings are insured (up to $250,000 per bank) by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.The Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) allows savers to deposit more than the FDIC limit at participating banks. Other banks in the network will effectively insure portions of your investment by creating CDs for you at their banks. All of your money stays in one place (and so does your personal information) while you get FDIC insurance on the entire deposit. And at tax time, there's just one 1099 tax form to file.
If you wish to hold several individual CDs, consider using a laddering strategy, with which you spread maturity dates evenly over three to five years. This way, you don't have all your money committed at one interest rate, and you can capitalize when higher rates become available.
Unit investment trusts
Unit investment trusts often come with little fanfare, and you won't see them advertised as heavily as mutual funds or other investment products. The reason is that they're generally not as profitable for the people creating and managing them. And that's great news for investors in the know.UITs can hold either stocks or bonds. Most trusts focus on either capital appreciation or generation of a consistent income stream. The key difference between mutual funds and UITs is that a trust's portfolio is established once, and remains fixed for the life of the investment. No changes are made to the portfolio after the initial public offering.
With debt UITs, investors receive a pro-rata cash payout when the maturing bond is redeemed.
While investors know exactly what they're getting upfront, unit trusts also come with a big tax advantage over mutual funds. You're responsible only for the capital gains you earn -- you'll never be faced with paying a capital-gains tax on somebody else's money, as often happens with mutual funds.
Most UITs have good liquidity, and can be traded daily at or near net asset value. They can be found at most of the major fund companies or through a brokerage.
Managed subaccount with a registered investment adviser
Putting at least a fair portion of your liquid net worth into the hands of a trusted investment professional is the single best choice for many people. There are enough professional certifications within the world of investing to make anybody's head spin, but a good registered investment advisory company should employ either chartered financial analysts or certified financial planners.Registered investment advisers earn fees (typically as a percentage of assets) for the service of creating and maintaining portfolios custom-suited to individual investors. They are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and must adhere to strict reporting and presentation standards to ensure fairness to investors.
The minimum investment required to get started used to be quite high, but RIAs are no longer just for the high-net-worth group. Thanks to cost savings from electronic trading and other market efficiencies, RIAs can take on new clients with as little as $100,000, in some cases.
This option provides great tax advantages, in that a professional with knowledge of your tax situation can manage your gains and losses for the year. Also, it's nice to have your portfolio managed by a seasoned pro -- someone who can guide financial events that will shape your life in the coming decades.
Fees vary, but this competitive field can be accessed for about 1% per year, roughly the same as a mutual fund.
