By Malcolm Berko
Published: April 9,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I’m a teacher in Pennsylvania and need your help in selecting a good international mutual fund with TIAA-CREF. The two funds I’m looking at are TIAA-CREF Institutional International and Nuveen Tradewinds Global. The TIAA fund has an expense ratio of 0.34 percent, while the Nuveen fund has an expense ratio of 0.99 [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: April 5,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: My broker of 14 years is leaving Merrill Lynch with two other brokers from another firm to form their own management business, and they will use Charles Schwab to send statements and accept their orders. My broker has done fine by us, but I’m concerned about leaving the safety of Merrill Lynch [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: April 2,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I am a successful corporate lawyer, my husband is an engineer and together we manage a modest $240,000 collectively in two IRAs, plus $520,000 in combined pension plans at our respective employers. My IRA and pension plan are larger than his. And both of our IRAs own Bed Bath & Beyond shares, [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 29,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: Why is it that you never or very seldom recommend exchange-traded funds or index funds in your column?
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 26,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I’m 66, widowed and retired at 62. I own a one-bedroom condominium with a $24,000 mortgage, have $9,000 in savings and had an income of $41,000. I get $19,000 from a pension and Social Security and $22,000 from a $440,000, 5 percent CD coming due next month. The bank will give me [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 22,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I want to invest $20,000 in gold. I have listened to many radio and TV advertisements in which all of these companies say they sell gold at the cheapest prices. How do I know which firm to pick so I can buy at the cheapest price? I called several of these firms, [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 19,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I am moving my $520,000 IRA portfolio to a discount broker, because in the past three years, under professional management, it has declined nearly $40,000 in value, and I haven’t taken any income from the account. I am 50 and hope to be able to work until 67 and then live on [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 15,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I’m 79 and widowed. I live with my son, who is a chemical engineer, and I have an account with a big brokerage. Since 2007, I am down 9 percent, so I’ve decided to move my account to a broker at Edward Jones. Please give me your opinion of this company. I [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 12,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: Ben Bernanke really messed up this economy, which has gone straight to Hades in a hand basket. Home prices, unemployment, the deficit and the failure of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, GM and our banks all happened under Bernanke. But because of the Fed’s low interest rates, a company like Chimera, which owns [...]
By Malcolm Berko
Published: March 8,2012
Dear Mr. Berko: I’m amazed at the trillions of dollars that seem to pass among the Treasury, the banks and the Federal Reserve. I’ve been working like a dog in my accounting business for the past 23 years, and none of that money has benefited my 250 or so clients or found its way into [...]
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