When investors understand the fundamentals of investing, it can increase their confidence and bolster the relationship they have with their advisor. The resources featured below cover types of investments, retirement, volatility & risk, investment planning & strategies, as well as investor guidance—in-demand topics that investors want to learn more about.
Types of investments
There are many types of investments, including, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, savings accounts, and more. Which investment type should an investor use in their portfolio? That depends on many factors and is a conversation we encourage investors to have with their financial advisors.
All about bonds
6 minute read
A bond is simply a loan you make to a corporation, municipality, or government agency. The borrower gets the cash it needs, while you, the lender, earn interest for the term of the loan. For the use of your money, the borrower promises to pay you a specific interest rate on a regular basis for a set period of time.
Learn all about bonds
Stocks versus bonds
5 minute read
Choosing the right mix of stocks and bonds can be one of the most basic yet confusing decisions facing any investor. In general, the role of stocks is to provide long-term growth potential and the role of bonds is to provide an income stream. The question is how these qualities fit into your investment strategy.
Understand stocks vs. bonds
Cryptocurrency and investor portfolios: Is an allocation warranted?
24 minutes read
In this article, we discuss the case for cryptocurrency and examine how one might position cryptocurrency within a total portfolio.
Download Cryptocurrency (PDF)
Types of investments related content
Once you've developed an understanding of these types of investments, please explore our investment solutions, which embody many of these investment types.
Retirement
While your financial advisor will have tools to help evaluate whether you're on track for, or will be sustained through, retirement, these articles introduce fundamental principles when it comes to preparing for retirement.
Introduction to IRAs
4 minute read
An individual retirement account (IRA) is a tax-deferred account set up by an individual. IRAs can give you a tax advantage and complement other retirement funds. Finding the most appropriate IRA vehicle for you can depend on your investment goals, income, and age, personal tax situation and retirement options available at your employer.
Guide to IRAs
Planning for your retirement savings
18 minutes read
Getting to retirement requires many steps and plenty of planning. Learn how to start planning and saving, how to invest during life changes, and how to retire by design instead of default can help you achieve your retirement goals.
Planning for retirement
Retirement lifestyle factors
7 minute read
Your new job in retirement is to manage and track your portfolio to meet your goals. Learn what to discuss with your spouse and your advisor, how to keep on giving during retirement, and deciding between one lump sum or periodic payments.
In-retirement planningRetirement related content
Retirement takes careful planning. It's helpful to know the basics as well as what investment solutions might be best suited for your portfolio. A financial advisor can provide this guidance and our study helps explain their value.
Volatility & risk
Volatility and risk are often key factors that influence investor behavior. However, an investor can more easily ride out these periods of uncertainty if they are armed with knowledge and an understanding of historical market performance.
Impact of staying invested
4 minute read
Staying the course during market volatility is often difficult for many investors. Some choose to move to cash investments, while others try to time the market. Unfortunately, these investors are often buying high and selling low—and miss the rallies that follow the challenging periods.
Download Staying invested (PDF)
Keep calm and stay invested
8 minute read
It’s important to remember to stick to your long-term financial plan and avoid emotional, headline-driven decisions. To help ease some of the angst, consider these three guidelines to help you keep things in perspective, and stay calm and invested.
Download Keep calm (PDF)Bull v. bear market
4 minute read
We believe that possessing the discipline to stay invested through the ups and downs of the market gives a diversified portfolio the best probability of meeting its goals.
Download Bull v. bear market (PDF)Volatility & risk related content
Market volatility is to be expected during your investment lifespan. And with volatility, often comes risk. However, there are ways we, at Russell Investments, work to ensure that the right risks are taken, with the highest likelihood of compensation.
Investment planning & strategies
Investment planning and strategies can encourage investors to stick to their investment plan and overall objectives. These straight-forward approaches can be easily implemented and, with the help of an advisor, investors can reap the benefits.
Developing your investment strategy
3 minute read
As many investors discover, mapping out an investment plan is the easy part. Sticking with that plan is what separates investors from speculators.
Develop your investment strategy
Value of diversification
6 minute read
What style or asset class performs best in any given year? It depends. This color chart shows how large cap, small cap, value, growth, international, bonds, and real estate performed over the past number of years. It demonstrates how there is never an asset class guaranteed to be the best performing asset class year over year, which supports the value of diversification in a portfolio.
Download Value of diversification (PDF)
Dollar-cost averaging
4 minute read
Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) helps you deal with the unpredictable nature of the financial markets. The way it works is you invest equal amounts of money on a regular schedule, over a chosen time period. You decide how much you want to invest, how often and for how long.
Download Dollar-cost averaging (PDF)
Tax-smart investing
35 minutes read
This guide has been created to help you understand how taxes impact your investments. Whether you’re new to investing or experienced, it’s designed to empower you with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions. From unravelling how investments are taxed to exploring tax-smart strategies like tax-loss harvesting, we want this guide to be your go-to resource.
Download guidebook for investors (PDF)Investment planning & strategies related content
An advisor can work with investors to understand their financial goals and translate that understanding into an investment plan that fits the investor's risk tolerance. Our investment approach and solutions include careful evaluation as well as variety to better suit an investor's needs.
Investor guidance
Advisors play a critical role in steering investors, and their behavior, through the various market environments they may encounter over their lives—and through the various major life events they undergo. The content below can be helpful to advisors and investors, whether a relationship is just getting established, or is maturing over time.
Value of an advisor study
11 minute read
We at Russell Investments believe all investors should work with a financial advisor. Our study is based on a simple formula that shows the value that advisors add by helping investors gain financial security.
Download Value of an advisor (PDF)
Cycle of investor emotions
1–10 minute read
Emotions can be such a threat to an investor's financial health, it is important to know how to keep your head above water in the cycle of investor emotions.
Interact with the Cycle of investor emotions
How to avoid common behavioral biases
6 minute read
Why do investors react differently to the same market event? It depends on a number of factors, such as what the investor’s objectives are, what their beliefs are about where they are in the market cycle and what markets will do next within the investor’s time horizon. Some beliefs may lead to successful investment strategies and behaviors. However, other beliefs may lead to behavioral biases that jeopardize the likelihood of achieving an investor’s objectives.
Download Behavior biases (PDF)