Practice

T. Rowe Price suggests many boomers planning early retirement would be better off working through their 60s and saving less.

A majority of Americans find retirement planning confusing and want additional help, a study by the ING Retirement Research Institute conducted by the Boston Consulting Group found.

The nation's stock exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Wednesday filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a new "limit up-limit down" mechanism that would limit swings in stock prices, during periods of volatility. Under the proposal, trades in listed stocks would have to be executed within a range tied to recent prices for that security.

Wells Fargo Securities will pay $11 million in penalties for misrepresenting—and overcharging for—two complex debt products tied to housing industry performance. The penalties were related to “misconduct in the sale” of two collateralized debt obligations, when the housing market was beginning to swoon in late 2006 and 2007. The conduct by Wachovia Capital Markets, as the unit then was known, violated securities laws in two ways, the SEC said.

An Oregon CPA has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering with his business, misusing over $44 million of customer funds and causing 91 of his customers to lose $13.7 million.

Forget satisfying lifestyle choices: Many investors will have to adjust their retirement expectations just to secure the necessities, according to a study by Sun Life.

“These customers are seeing their parents struggle,” an executive at Fidelity said. “I think that is making it poignant for them; they need to have a bigger focus on savings.”

The stunning decline in property values across most of the country, a prolonged recession and plain-old negligence and shortsightedness on the part of American workers have all combined to make retirement more a fantasy than a reality for tens of millions of Baby Boomers who are will soon turn 65 years of age.

The Hartford found in a recent survey that 37% of Americans age 45 and older with incomes below $50,000 worry more about rising taxes than those with higher incomes, but are less likely to participate in a 401(k) or other retirement plan that could reduce their taxes. By comparison, 28.5% of those earning $50,000 to $100,000 have such worries, and 32% of those earning more than $100,00 are worried about taxes.

What portfolio management activities provide the MOST value for your time/money/energy/attention, and which activities provide the LEAST value for your time etc.?