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Avoid frightening investment moves
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Once again, it’s Halloween. If you’re an adult, you’re probably more amused than frightened by the variety of ghouls, ghosts and goblins you’ll see running around this week. However, although Halloween itself may not be particularly alarming, you can find some things in life that are truly scary - such as making bad investment moves.

Here are a few of these alarming errors to avoid:

Investing too little in your 401(k) - If you have a 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored plan, you owe it to yourself to take full advantage of it. Your contributions are generally made with pre-tax dollars, so the more you put in each year, the lower your taxable income. Plus, your earnings have the potential to grow on a tax-deferred basis. Furthermore, you may have a dozen or more investment options within your 401(k), so you can spread your dollars around in a way that reflects your risk tolerance and retirement goals. At the very least, contribute enough to earn your employer’s match, if one is offered. And try to increase your annual contributions every time your salary goes up.

Ignoring your IRA - Even if you have a 401(k), you can still open an IRA. Many people do this - but then forget about it. For 2007, you can put $4,000 into an IRA, or $5,000 if you’re 50 or older. A traditional IRA offers the potential for tax-free earnings, while a Roth IRA can grow tax-free, provided you’ve had your account for at least five years and you don’t take withdrawals until you are at least 59-1/2. And you can fund an IRA with virtually any investment you choose.

Investing too conservatively - Many investors are so uncomfortable with the volatility of the stock market that they put much of their money in more "conservative" investments, such as Treasury bills, corporate bonds and certificates of deposit. It’s true that these types of securities will, in general, offer more preservation of principal than stocks, but they will not provide much growth potential. So, if you’ve "loaded up" on these fixed-income vehicles, you could lose purchasing power, over time. Over the long term, only stocks have historically outpaced the rate of inflation, although past performance is not an indication of future results. Consequently, if you are saving and investing for retirement, you will certainly need an appropriate amount of stocks in your portfolio.

Chasing "hot" stocks - If you follow a tip on a "hot" stock, you could get burned. Why? For one thing, by the time you buy the stock, it may already be cooling down. Even more importantly, it simply may not be appropriate for your individual risk tolerance and long-term goals.

"Timing" the market - If you could always "buy low and sell high," you’d unquestionably make a fortune as an investor. Unfortunately, no one can really predict when market highs and lows will occur - and you can rack up a lot of expenses buying and selling your investments in a vain attempt to "time" the market. You’re much better off by buying quality investments and holding them for the long term, or at least until your needs change.

There’s no trick to avoiding all these investment mistakes - and if you do, you may just find your investment statement is not so spooky to read.

 

Evans is a financial advisor for Edward Jones in Richmond Hill.

 

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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