Financial Products

Mutual Funds

No matter what you're saving for—a new home, retirement, or just a rainy day—mutual funds can help you reach your goals by giving you an easy way to participate in the stock market.
 

A lot of people invest in mutual funds, and it's pretty easy to see why they're so popular. A mutual fund is a simple way to diversify. In other words, they help minimize your risk by not putting all your eggs in one basket.

So what do you need to know about mutual funds?

A mutual fund is a pool of investments usually a combination of stocks, bonds, and cash instruments. They are bought and sold by an investment company based on the goals of the fund. The risk, size of the company and industry are all things the fund manager thinks about when making investment decisions.

When you put money in a mutual fund, you're basically buying a small amount of each investment in the fund's portfolio. You're counting on the company that creates the fund to investigate industries to invest in based on the fund's investment strategy and decide which ones to invest in.
 

Mutual funds can be a great choice for:

  • People who want a simple way to make sure their investments are diversified
  • Those who invest their money in smaller chunks
  • Those who don't have the time to research individual stocks and bonds
  • People who want to be able to access their money easily without paying extra fees

 

Annuities

Most people look forward to the day they can retire. No more daily grind. No more meetings. No more stress. But what about the uncertainties of a bad market? You’ve probably put some money away for retirement—but what about making sure that money lasts?

Annuities might be a foreign concept, but once you understand the basics, things get pretty simple.

In the same way mutual funds simplify diversifying your investments, annuities simplify getting your money when you actually need it—in retirement. They're a way to help make sure you can have a steady stream of income, even if the market doesn't exactly perform the way you want it to.

Annuities work like this. You pay money to an insurance company, and then they invest it. Over time, they'll pay you back while offering tax advantages. You won't pay taxes until the earnings on the funds are paid out to you. You choose how much you'll contribute, when you want to start receiving payments, and how long they need to last.

The upside is that there aren't many surprises. There's an income you can count on month after month, and in a good market, some annuities earn positive returns for a higher payout.

With so many types of annuities available, there's something for just about everyone, especially:

  • People who want to plan their future income carefully
  • Those who might want to begin receiving retirement income before their Social Security benefits take effect
  • Those who want a lot of guidance with managing their money
  • People who don't foresee needing to access their money until they start receiving payments from the annuity

 

 

IRA's

IRA's are a type of account designed to help you save for retirement. If you're not familiar, it might be a little confusing. But once you understand the basic concept, you'll be able to see how IRAs can really get you on the right path to retirement.

Here's how they work. Think of an IRA as a basket. Once you have one, you pick investments to put in it—mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, and annuities. Because they're in the IRA "basket," they're protected from some taxes. And that adds up to the potential to earn more money.

IRA's can be an ideal retirement savings vehicle for many individuals, especially:

  • Those who are ready to set aside money and not touch it until they retire
  • People who would like to potentially pay less income tax
  • People who want lots of choices for investing their money—such as mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, or annuities

 

 

Give us a call at 936-564-2981 or email us at joe@stillfinancialgroup.com or rick@stillfinancialgroup.com for quotes or questions.