Weekly Wrap: What You Need to Know About Sequence of Returns, Direct Indexing, and Practicing for Retirement

Editor's note: Read the latest on how the coronavirus is rattling the markets and what investors can do to navigate it.

Editor's Picks

Sequence of Returns: What It Means and How to Deal The order of when things happen can be your friend or your foe. 3 Stocks to Forget These no-moat stocks have lost more than 20% this year yet remain overpriced. Steer Clear of Electric Vehicle Startups? SPACs and other new companies may not be the best way to capitalize on growing EV adoption. Why You Should 'Trial Run' Your Retirement You can learn a lot from a practice round. Why You Don't Have to Convince Gen Z to Invest Sustainably We've grown up knowing it's a primary concern, not secondary. Should You Follow Vanguard Into Direct Indexing? Here are the benefits and drawbacks of what may be the investing wave of the future.

Portfolio Planning and Personal Finance With Christine Benz

Could Required Minimum Distributions Cause You to Withdraw Too Much? The withdrawal rules are pretty conservative, but couples with a big age disparity should be more cautious. The Best Place to Save for Long-Term Care Expenses Counterintuitively, vehicles offering tax-free withdrawals aren't always the best for long-term-care savings. Prepping for Possible Tax Changes From estate taxes to gift taxes and more--how potential revamps can affect us all.

Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds

3 Upgrades for T. Rowe Price These T. Rowe standouts are earning Gold and Silver medals. Value Funds Hold Lead Over Growth Through Midyear But signs build that the value rally has run out of steam. 2 Vanguard Dividend ETFs Under the Microscope We take a holdings-level look at these Gold-rated funds. 4 Funds To Watch at Tax Time These funds might make big capital gains distributions later this year.

Stocks

Medtronic Takes Another Shot It's once again leading the field in the technology for treatment-resistant hypertension. U.S. Equity Market Valuation Update: Stick With Value Value stocks struggled in July, but we continue to see this category as the best opportunity for long-term investors. Top Pick Emerges From Auto Microchip Shortage Semiconductors face current challenges, but their future is strong. 3 Signs of a Healthy Dividend Here's how to find dependable dividends and keep them rolling in. We Still Expect Elevated Inflation to Be Temporary Once the vehicle shortage is resolved, inflation should be back on trend.

Stock Analyst Updates

Berkshire Hathaway Bounces Back in First Half We are likely to reassess our $440,000 ($293) per Class A (B) share fair value estimate in the near term. Cryptocurrency Price Surge Drives Coinbase's Strong Q2 The strength of Coinbase's performance during the quarter, as well as continued cryptocurrency volatility since end of June, has led us to increase our short-term expectations and increase our fair value estimate to $201 from $194. Palantir's Commercial Strength Accelerates Q2 Growth We are raising our fair value estimate for the narrow-moat tech company.

Rekenthaler Report

How Much Has the Market Benefited from Multiple Expansion? Measuring the tailwind's effects. Would You Have Found Berkshire Hathaway in 1975? Probably not, from the performance charts, writes Rekenthaler in this article from the archives.

Advisor Insights

The Executor's Guide to Retirement Plan Distributions: Income Taxes Continuing a look at issues executors face when retirement benefits are payable to the decedent's estate. What Are the Barriers to Sustainable Investing? Integrating sustainable investing into an advisory practice requires understanding the hurdles.

The Long View Podcast

Sarah Newcomb: 'I Love Rules of Thumb' The director of behavioral science at Morningstar discusses the value of smart shortcuts, why social media makes people feel bad about themselves, and how the pandemic changed how Americans save and spend.

Sustainability Matters

High Yield Means Higher Sustainability Risk Energy stocks can fuel poor environment profiles in dividend strategies. Even so, sustainability and income aren't mutually exclusive.

The Short Answer

First Job? How to Create (and Stick With) a Budget We show you how to set up a budget that aligns your spending with your goals and values.

Policy

Should Your Employer Default You Into an Annuity? Yes--but only if it is a good one.

Commentary

Investing in Chinese Stocks Is Not as Dramatic as You Think Martin Lau, an FSSA fund manager well-versed in Asian equities, discusses China's sell-off and what increasing regulatory pressure means for investors.

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