ETF Monkey

Earlier today, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the implementation of the fiduciary rule, an Obama-era Labor Department rule that requires brokers to act in a client’s best interest, rather than seek the highest profits for themselves, when providing retirement advice. While the merits of this rule are a subject of fierce debate , anyone interested in saving and investing towards their retirement has a vested interest in this topic. What does all of this have to do with me? For a little over a year-and-a-half, I have been writing using the pseudonym ETF Monkey. In this blog post I wrote for WhoTrades.com, I offer a few thoughts regarding my own work, and what I believe to be the benefits I offer readers whichever way things shake out with respect to future implementation of the fiduciary rule. I hope you enjoy it.

Congratulations! Here you are. A successful millennial. For the sake of argument, we are going to put you in the middle of this group, generally described as being born roughly between 1980 and 2000. We'll stipulate that you are born in 1990, so graduated college in 2012 and are now four years into your working career. At 26 years of age, you have a long and bright working future ahead of you. You are clever enough to know that you should start investing now. At the same time, you are not all about money. You don't want to be a slave to your investments, you want your investments to be a slave to you, and give you both the time and freedom to devote to the things that are important to you. I'll cut right to the chase. There are a ton of investment strategies from which you can choose. Here is the one I would suggest. First, open a brokerage account at Fidelity Investments. Second, buy these six ETFs, in the weightings shown: 45% - iShares Core S&P Total U...

In previous articles for both Seeking Alpha and this blog , I have analyzed the iShares Core S&P Total Market ETF ( ITOT ) . BlackRock, Inc . recently announced huge changes to this ETF, effective December 18, 2015. First, at least for a short time, it became the cheapest ETF ever offered to the public. Secondly, it will be tied to a much broader index going forward, one that in my view much more accurately reflects the total U.S. market. In a new article for Seeking Alpha, I take an in-depth look at all of these changes. Particularly if you are a Fidelity Brokerage client, I encourage you to check out my analysis. If you have ignored ITOT in the past in favor of competing ETFs, this article may encourage you to take a second look. Author's Note: If you find my work valuable, I would be greatly indebted if you would take a minute to follow me on Twitter , Facebook , and Google+ . My goal is for my work to remain entirely free of cost to my readers, and growing my follow...

This article is designed for individuals who are Fidelity Brokerage clients, as I am, and who have an interest in building a low-cost, diversified ETF portfolio. Here are just a couple of very valid scenarios for considering this subject: You have a 401(k) account from a former employer which you have just left sitting there because you don't quite know what to do with the funds. Likely, you are paying annual fees of 1-2% on those investments. You may be able to roll those funds into a Fidelity IRA and create a core ETF portfolio with an overall expense ratio of perhaps one-tenth that amount, with the difference going straight into your pocket. You already have, or wish to establish, a non-retirement investment account at Fidelity. You wish to invest in modest monthly increments while ensuring that your investments are well-diversified. NOTE: If you are new to ETFs, you can learn a little more about them here . However, since ETFs trade just like stocks, trading commissi...