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Interactive Charts
The next generation in charting, our Interactive Charts are dynamic online tools that bring important investing and financial concepts to life quickly and memorably. These three- to five-minute "mini-tutorials" allow users to hear a professionally narrated, streaming audio explanation of important financial concepts. As the narration progresses, each chart dynamically takes shape on screen, illustrating key concepts on cue.
Diversifying Your Investments
Did you know you may be able to reduce risk in your investment portfolio by spreading your money among different types of securities? Learn more about the potential benefit of not having all your eggs in one basket with this insightful animated chart.
Financing With Debt vs. Equity
The two basic types of financing available to most small-business owners are debt and equity - in other words, borrowing money or selling a share of ownership. This chart provides an overview of each strategy and provides financial guidelines to help owners decide whether they should use debt, equity, or a combination of the two.
Growth vs. Value Investing: The Case for Diversification
Generally speaking, there are two strategies for investing in stocks and stock mutual funds: growth investing and value investing. But while growth investing and value investing are quite different, neither has consistently outperformed the other in recent years. With that in mind, this engaging chart demonstrates the potential advantages of creating a diversified portfolio that includes both growth and value stock investments.
Inflation's Impact on Your Retirement Income Needs
For investors approaching retirement, any sound income management strategy has to take the rising cost of living into account. This iChart illustrates the effect price increases can have on individual's annual retirement income requirement over the course of time.
International Investments
This iChart illustrates how allocating a portion of your portfolio to international stocks can help diversify holdings and boost returns when domestic markets head south. It also identifies the special risks of international investing, suggesting ways that international investors can reduce risk.
Investment Volatility and Your Retirement Income Potential
Investors approaching or in retirement may need to rethink the way they approach market volatility and its potential impact on their ability to generate a stream of income. Using hypothetical scenarios, this iChart shows how the specific timing of market ups and downs can affect long-term financial security in retirement.
Making Your Nest Egg Last
Your retirement account distribution (withdrawal) strategy is directly related to how long you’ll be able to provide yourself with income after leaving the workforce. As you approach retirement, therefore, it’s important to give serious consideration to exactly how much income you’ll need each year. This authoritative chart illustrates how long your money might last under various distribution scenarios.
Market Cap Matters
Ever wonder why fund managers devote so much attention to company size? This iChart explains why different sized companies perform differently and how a capitalization-based investment strategy can be used to enhance returns. The chart shows representative small-, mid-, and large-cap indexes and how they have performed in the past ten years compared with the overall market and explains the key factors giving rise to shifts in market leadership by different size companies.
Pursuing Portfolio Returns With a Sector Rotation Strategy
Sector rotation is a strategy widely used by professional money managers. This iChart explains how sector rotation works and how different sectors lead and lag the market at different points in the business cycle, and it suggests ways investors can incorporate sector-based investments in their portfolio.
Putting Time on Your Side
Time is a critical factor when it comes to pursuing your retirement savings goals. Even if you can only set aside a little each month, starting early could help you to take advantage of the potential of compounding. Click on this dynamic, animated chart for a quick demonstration.
Rebalancing Your Asset Allocation
When you begin investing, you'll decide how to spread your money among the major asset classes. But over time, you may need to periodically rebalance that investment mix. This dynamic chart will show you why.
Retirement Expectations vs. Reality — Are Workers Overconfident?
Are participants' views of retirement in line with the actions they’re taking today? This short overview explores recent research demonstrating how participants may be overly optimistic when it comes to their own retirement planning activity.
Retirement Savings: The Big Difference a Little Bit Extra Could Make
When it comes to retirement savings, a little bit extra could potentially go a long way toward helping you achieve a more financially secure future. That’s why you may want to consider contributing as much as possible to your account for as long as possible. This analytical chart shows how increasing your retirement account contribution by as little as an additional one percentage point each year could potentially boost your account balance by tens of thousands of dollars over the long term.
Taking Advantage of Dividend Tax Rates
A tax change in 2003 lowered the rate on dividend gains, making dividend-paying stocks an attractive investment option in certain situations. This chart demonstrates how the new dividend rates compare with rates on interest income and the impact they could have on an investment over time.
Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Strategies
One of the critical decisions new retirees will need to make is which of their retirement accounts to draw assets from first. This iChart demonstrates the potential impact of choosing to take withdrawals from tax-deferred or taxable accounts.
The Benefits of Tax-Deferred Compounding
Tax-deferred retirement savings vehicles may give you the edge you need to pursue your financial goals. They allow you to delay taxes, leaving more of your money invested. Take a look at the difference that could make over time with this interactive chart.
The Value of the Roth 401(k) Option
This short tutorial compares a $15,000 investment in a Roth 401(k) with the same amount invested in a traditional 401(k), and offers some additional insight into why a plan sponsor may want to add a Roth 401(k) to its current pretax savings plan.
Understanding Dollar Cost Averaging
You can guess about the best time to invest or you can use a strategy many financial professionals recommend for long-term investors: dollar cost averaging. Take a look at the potential benefits of this strategy with this animated chart.
Using ETFs to Lower Costs and Boost Long-Term Performance
There are now twice as many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the market as five years ago, and one reason for their growing popularity is that ETFs typically have lower costs than comparable mutual funds. This interactive chart explains exactly how an ETF works and illustrates the connection between their lower fees and the potential for higher long-term returns.
Weighing the Advantages of Buying vs. Leasing
For business owners, the decision to buy or lease equipment is one that can have significant short- and long-term financial consequences. For example, purchasing a van may involve more upfront expenses than leasing one, but you may eventually be able to recoup some of those costs by reselling the vehicle in the future. This dynamic chart will help you understand the cash flow implications of both strategies.
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