Tom Lauricella, Morningstar Inc global markets editor, explains why the market reacted poorly to the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook. The Smart Investor newsletter editor also discusses some of 2024’s biggest headlines such as inflation, the broader stock market rally, and new leadership in Washington.

Why the Fed Scaled Back from Four Interest-Rate Cuts to Two for 20255

Did the Market Bounce Back After the Drop Following the Fed Rate Decision?

Why the Fed Isn’t Saying They Are Seeing a Stronger Economy in 2025

Will Trump’s Tariffs Cause Inflation to Rise?

Will the Market’s Momentum Continue into 2025?

High Yields in the Bond Market Are Benefitting Investors

Will the Trump Administration Boost Bitcoin’s Growth?

How Investor’s Should Approach Trump’s Second Term

5 Stories Investors Should Watch for in 2025

Read about topics from this episode.  

Subscribe to Morningstar’s SmartInvestor newsletter.

Stocks Tumble on New Fed Rate Forecast—Here’s Why 

Fed Sets Stage For Fewer (or Possibly No) Rate Cuts in 2025 

Forecasts for November PCE Preview Show More Moderation in Inflation 

What to Expect From Bitcoin in 2025 

What Higher Bond Yields Mean for Markets in 2025

What to watch from Morningstar.

How to Diversify Your Portfolio to Handle a Market Correction

What Higher Bond Yields Mean for Markets in 2025

Yes, You Can Still Find Tax-Loss Harvesting Opportunities in 2024

A Simpler Medicare Part D Is Coming. Here's How It Could Save You Money

Read what our team is writing:

Tom Lauricella

Ivanna Hampton

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Russel Kinnel, director of ratings for Morningstar Research Services, discusses large growth’s impressive run in 2024 and why it might be time to rebalance if you haven’t in a while.

What is Driving Growth’s Impressive Run?

Why Is it Important to Rebalance Now

What Triggered Growth’s Largest Selloffs Since 2000

What Was Unusual About the Growth Correction in 2022

Top-Rated Bond Funds that Could Help with Saving for an Emergency Fund

Bond Funds that are Defensive if Growth Gets Crushed  

Small-Value Funds Out of Sync With Large Growth  

Mid-Growth Funds that are Good Diversifiers

Read about topics from this episode.  

Subscribe to the Morningstar FundInvestor newsletter. 

6 Top-Performing Large-Growth Funds 

Is It Time to Diversify Beyond US Large-Cap Growth Stocks? 

How to Rebalance Your Portfolio Before 2025 

The Best Funds for Rebalancing in 2025 

The Best Bond Funds 

What to watch from Morningstar.

What Higher Bond Yields Mean for Markets in 2025 

Yes, You Can Still Find Tax-Loss Harvesting Opportunities in 2024

A Simpler Medicare Part D Is Coming. Here's How It Could Save You Money

A Better Way to Use Leverage in Your ETF Portfolio

Read what our team is writing:

Russel Kinnel

Ivanna Hampton 

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Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Investment Management, discusses why long-term yields spiked in the wake of the election, what's next for fixed-income in 2025, and how investors can take advantage of higher yields in their portfolios.

Why Did Bond Yields Rise in the Wake of the Election?

How Investors Are Thinking About Rising Bond Yields

What the Current Run-Up in Bond Yields Tells Us About the Markets

How Do Today’s Yields Compare to History?

Will the Flat Yield Curve Start to Steepen?

How Bond Yields Affect the Stock Market  

How Long Can the Market Withstand a Higher Interest Rate Environment?

How Bond Yields Affect Mortgages

How Today’s Bond Yields Can Benefit Investors When Looking at Portfolio Construction  

Economic Outlook 2025 Key Takeaways

Read about topics from this episode.  

Postelection Deficit Concerns Fuel Jump in Bond Yields

Trump’s Tariffs: A Wild Card for the Markets in 2025

Fed Sticks to Rate Cut Plans, for Now

‘Diversification Is Back’—Why 60/40 Portfolios Are Working

What to watch from Morningstar.

Yes, You Can Still Find Tax-Loss Harvesting Opportunities in 2024

A Simpler Medicare Part D Is Coming. Here's How It Could Save You Money

A Better Way to Use Leverage in Your ETF Portfolio

Apple Earnings Are on Deck. Will Apple Intelligence Help Drive iPhone Sales?

Read what our team is writing:

Sarah Hansen

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Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, discusses the ins and outs of tax-loss selling and where investors can look for potential opportunities to harvest losses in their portfolios.

What is Tax-Loss Selling?

Are There Limits to How Much You Can Offset Capital?

How to Evaluate Your Cost Basis to Find Loss Opportunities

What is the 30 Day Rule for Tax-Loss Selling?

Why Investors Should Think About Tax-Loss Selling When Markets Are Up

How to Make Tax-Loss Selling a Part of Your Portfolio Maintenance Strategy  

Why Tax-Loss Selling is a Bear Market Strategy  

Read about topics from this episode.  

How You Could Benefit from Tax-Loss Selling This Year

Are Active ETFs Truly More Tax-Efficient?

Ready for a Big Capital Gains Tax Bill?

What You Need to Know About Capital Gains Distributions

Which Investments to Keep Out of Your Taxable Account

What to watch from Morningstar.

A Simpler Medicare Part D Is Coming. Here's How It Could Save You Money

A Better Way to Use Leverage in Your ETF Portfolio

Apple Earnings Are on Deck. Will Apple Intelligence Help Drive iPhone Sales?

Is Your Portfolio Built to Withstand a Market Rotation?

Read what our team is writing:

Christine Benz

Margaret Giles

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David Harrell, editor of Morningstar’s DividendInvestor newsletter, makes the case for dividend investing. However, he also points out the pitfalls, like dividend fallacy, that income-focused investors should watch out for. 

Why Investors Are Divided About Dividend Investing 

The Pitfall of Dividend Fallacy 

Warning Signal for Dividend Traps

Should Investors Focus on Total Return Rather Than Dividends Alone?

How a Dividend-Focused Investment Strategy Can Help with Safe Withdrawal Rates

Why Investors May Not Want to Create Their Own Dividend

Why Long-Term Performance Matters When Looking at Dividend Stocks Versus the Broder Market

Are Share Repurchases Better Than Dividends at Returning Capital to Stock Owners? (This part of the episode includes a clarification: Taxes on qualified dividends can be avoided if your AGI is below certain levels.)

Drawbacks of a Dividend-Focused Investment Strategy  

Has Dividend Investing Created Bad Investor Behavior?

Read about topics from this episode.  

Subscribe to the Morningstar DividendInvestor newsletter.

3 Dividend Stocks for November 2024

Are Better Days Ahead for Dividend Investors?

Is a Dividend Stock Comeback Around the Corner?

New Dividend Stocks: Can Meta and Salesforce Help Revive the Classic Strategy?

There Is Nothing Special About Dividends

What to watch from Morningstar.

A Simpler Medicare Part D Is Coming. Here's How It Could Save You Money

A Better Way to Use Leverage in Your ETF Portfolio

Apple Earnings Are on Deck. Will Apple Intelligence Help Drive iPhone Sales?

Is Your Portfolio Built to Withstand a Market Rotation?

Read what our team is writing:

David Harrell

Ivanna Hampton

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Mark Miller, Morningstar contributor, talks about the new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D coming in 2025. Plus, learn what you should know before switching between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare during open enrollment.

Traditional Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage

Why Seniors Shouldn’t Just Roll Over Their Plans in 2025

2025 Medicare Part D Changes

Medicare’s New Prescription Payment Plan

What Should Seniors Do If Their Medicare Advantage Plan is Being Eliminated?

What You Need to Know About Switching Between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage  

Where You Can Go to Get Help Choosing a New Medicare Plan

Read about topics from this episode.  

Medicare Open Enrollment: What to Know as You Enroll for 2025

I’m 65 and Still Working. Should I Enroll in Medicare?

Are Consumers Better Off With Medicare Plus a Medigap Plan?

What to watch from Morningstar.

A Better Way to Use Leverage in Your ETF Portfolio

Apple Earnings Are on Deck. Will Apple Intelligence Help Drive iPhone Sales?

Is Your Portfolio Built to Withstand a Market Rotation?

Inherited IRA Rules: What You Need to Know Before 2025

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Mark Miller

Ivanna Hampton

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Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America for Morningstar Research Services, talks about the best way for most retail investors to leverage and which leveraged ETFs look promising. Travis Miller, strategist for Morningstar Research Services, discusses how tech companies are looking to nuclear energy to fuel data centers’ surging demand.

Why Leverage Has a Debatable Reputation in Investing

Volatility Drag and Leveraged ETFs

Why Does Leverage Kill ETFs?

What Are ETPs?

A Better Way for Investors to Use Leverage in Their Portfolio

How Can Investors Add Leverage to Their Portfolio Without Volatility Drag?

Costs of Leveraged ETFs

How Most Investors Should Gain Exposure to Leverage

Do Leveraged ETFs Show Promise?

What’s Coming Up in the Markets?

How Much Energy Does a Data Center Need to Run?

Why Small Modular Reactors Could Be Key to Powering Data Centers

Are Carbon-Free Pledges Driving Companies Toward Nuclear Energy?

Which Utilities Companies Are Next to Sign Data Center Deals?

Is This Shift Toward Nuclear Energy Larger Than Just AI?

What to Look for in Utilities Companies’ Earnings

Utilities Stock Picks

Read about topics from this episode.  

Subscribe to Morningstar's ETFInvestor Newsletter. 

The AI Revolution Is Ready to Power Up. It Just Needs Electricity 

Utilities: Falling Interest Rates, Growth Outlook Boosting Stocks

What to watch from Morningstar.

Apple Earnings Are on Deck. Will Apple Intelligence Help Drive iPhone Sales? 

Is Your Portfolio Built to Withstand a Market Rotation? 

Inherited IRA Rules: What You Need to Know Before 2025

How to Find the Best Health Savings Account

Read what our team is writing:

Bryan Armour 

Travis Miller 

Ivanna Hampton

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Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, interviews financial experts about different aspects of retirement in ‘How to Retire,’ the companion podcast to her book of the same name. In this episode, Christine talks with author and researcher Howard Gleckman about long-term care.  

How Long-Term Care Differs from Conventional Healthcare

Why Americans Need More Long-Term Care Than Ever Before

Long-Term Care Isn’t Just in Nursing Homes

Does Medicare Cover Long-Term Care Costs?

Who Should Consider Long-Term Care Insurance?

The Financial Implications of Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Howard Gleckman’s Experience with Long-Term Care 

Key Takeaways

Hi, I'm Christine Benz from Morningstar and welcome to the How to Retire podcast. It's a companion to my book, which is also called How to Retire. Each episode will provide a bite-sized lesson about how to do some aspect of retirement well.

If you read my work regularly, you know that I'm a little bit obsessed with the topic of long-term care, not just how to pay for it, but also all of the other dimensions of it, like the impact on families. To help discuss that topic, I reached out to Howard Gleckman. He is the author of a book called Caring for Our Parents, and he is also a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, where he is affiliated with the Tax Policy Center and the Program on Retirement Policy. He also writes a great blog for Forbes. I asked him to discuss the basics of long-term care, as well as the financial ramifications and implications for caregivers.

More from Howard Gleckman

Bio

Forbes Column

Urban Institute

TaxVox blog

Caring For Our Parents, by Howard Gleckman

Howard Gleckman on The Long View: ‘We Pretend This Isn’t a Problem’

Read more from Christine Benz.

How to Retire: Tips for Entering Retirement

The Hidden Crisis in Long-Term Care

How Likely Are You to Need Long-Term Care?

6 Steps for Smart Long-Term-Care Planning

Worried About Long-Term Care Expenses? Let’s Do Something About It.

Watch more from How to Retire.

How to Retire: Prioritize Tax Planning in Retirement

How to Retire: Transition from Saving to Spending

How to Retire: Consider a Retirement Bucket Portfolio Strategy

How to Retire: Know What ‘Enough’ Means in Retirement

How to Retire: Understand the Role of Working Longer

How to Retire: Stay Flexible with Your Retirement Spending

Read what our team is writing:

Christine Benz

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Katie Binns, director of product management for Morningstar Indexes, discusses bank loans’ benefits even as interest rates are expected to fall. William Kerwin, equity analyst for Morningstar Research Services who covers Apple, reveals the two main things he wants to hear about on the earnings call.

What Are Bank Loans?

Bank Loans vs. Junk Bonds

The Role of Bank Loans in Your Portfolio

Why the Market for Bank Loans Has Grown

Companies With Bank Loans Today

Why Bank Loans Are Less Volatile Than Junk Bonds

How Interest-Rate Cuts Could Affect Floating-Rate Investments

Could Riskier Credit Investments Default with an Economic Slowdown?

What’s Coming Up in the Markets?

Is Apple Intelligence Worth Upgrading Your iPhone?

How Important Are iPhone 16s Holiday Sales to Apple?

Why Apple Discontinued Developing Self-Driving Vehicles and Electric Cars

Could Nvidia Taking the Title as the World’s Most Valuable Company Affect Apple?

What to Look for in Apple Earnings

Apple Stock Outlook

Read about topics from this episode.  

The Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index Highlights a Growing Asset Class Popular With Credit Investors 

A Way to Protect Your Portfolio Against Bond Price Drops

Can Bank Loan Funds Rise to the Top Again?

Apple iPhone 16 Event Inspires Confidence 

Keep up with Morningstar’s coverage of company earnings. 

What to watch from Morningstar.

Is Your Portfolio Built to Withstand a Market Rotation? 

Inherited IRA Rules: What You Need to Know Before 2025

How to Find the Best Health Savings Account

How GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic Are Boosting Biopharma Stocks

Read what our team is writing:

William Kerwin, CFA 

Katie Binns 

Ivanna Hampton

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Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, interviews financial experts about different aspects of retirement in ‘How to Retire,’ the companion podcast to her book of the same name. In this episode, Christine talks with financial planning expert Jeff Levine about the importance of tax planning in retirement.

Why Tax Planning is Key When Withdrawing from Your Retirement Portfolio

Will Your Taxes Decrease in Retirement?

Key Tax Strategies for Retirees Before They Have to Take RMDs

Do Rules of Thumb for Retirement Spending Make Sense?

How to Lower Your RMD Tax Bills

How Qualified Charitable Distributions Can Help Lower Your Tax Bill

Key Takeaways

Hi, I'm Christine Benz from Morningstar and welcome to the How to Retire podcast. It's a companion to my book, which is also called How to Retire. Each episode will provide a bite-sized lesson about how to do some aspect of your retirement well.

Today's episode will focus on the tricky topic of tax planning during retirement. To tackle this topic, I reached out to Jeff Levine, who is Lead Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com, and also serves as Chief Planning Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners. Jeff is exceptionally good at explaining complex tax matters, so I knew that he would do a great job of delving into this topic.

More from Jeff Levine

Bio

Kitces.com

Buckingham Wealth Partners

Jeff Levine on The Long View: Smart Tax Moves for 2023 and Beyond

Read more from Christine Benz.

How to Retire: Tips for Entering Retirement

The Big Retirement Myth

Can You Control Required Minimum Distributions?

8 Little-Known Facts About RMDs

An Investing Road Map for Retirees

Read about topics from this episode. 

4 RMD Mistakes to Avoid

How Retirees Can Avoid the ‘Tax Torpedo’

Watch more from How to Retire.

How to Retire: Transition from Saving to Spending

How to Retire: Consider a Retirement Bucket Portfolio Strategy

How to Retire: Know What ‘Enough’ Means in Retirement

How to Retire: Understand the Role of Working Longer

How to Retire: Stay Flexible with Your Retirement Spending

Read what our team is writing:

Christine Benz

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-benz-b83b523