Morningstar's Christine Benz: Smart Investing, Tax, and Insurance Moves for Mid-Year Planning

Christine Benz is Director of Personal Finance at Morningstar and author of the soon-to-be-released book How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement. In this wide-ranging MoneyShow MoneyMasters Podcastepisode, we discuss the risks to investors of recency bias, steps to take ahead of “decumulation,” important long-term care insurance trends, and tax planning ahead of and after the 2024 presidential election.

We start by chatting about the long-running stock market rally and how it’s creating risks for investors – risks that seem more tangible in light of July’s violent market rotation. Christine covers the benefits of raising some cash, and highlights her cash recommendations for investors in different age brackets and employment situations. We then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of adding alternative investments to a traditional 60/40 portfolio, plus why adding value stocks, small caps, international equities, and other non-Magnificent-Seven names can help today’s investors. As she notes, “the way that we express humility, the way we kind of say, ‘I don't know,’ is to diversify across different parts of the market.”

Next, she talks about smarter tax planning strategies to consider regardless of whether Trump or Harris win in November – and ways to lessen the financial burden of long-term care needs. Then we cover the key benefits and actionable information readers will get in her book, set for release in September. Finally, she concludes with a sneak peek at what she’ll cover at the 2024 MoneyShow/TradersEXPO Orlando, set for Oct. 17-19 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. Click here to register: https://orlandomoneyshow.com/?scode=061246