Savings Content

Start saving early. You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times. There are a few reasons why that’s a good idea—to get in the habit, to manage risks to your investments and income, and to allow more time to contribute to your savings and let them grow. But the strongest case...

On March 21, 2020, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended the federal income tax filing due date—also known as Tax Day—for the 2019 tax year. Workers now have until July 15 to prepare their 2019 tax returns, as well as more time to consider options to...

A version of this letter by ICI Chief Economist Sean Collins was released in the Institute’s 60th edition of the Investment Company Fact Book.

This ICI Viewpoints is a version of a letter from ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens that was released in the 60th edition of the Investment Company Fact Book.

One thing you can expect when you’re expecting a baby is to pay a lot for diapers—you might pay about $600 by your child’s first birthday. But the cost of diapers is child’s play compared to the costs that could come later when paying for college. To encourage people to save for these...

To encourage people to save, federal and state governments offer special tax treatment for savings plans for specific goals, such as retirement and education. By increasing the benefit that savers receive in the short term, the government nudges savers to take a positive action that...

We’ve reached the halfway point in this series, and we’ve covered a lot of ground: the benefits of investing, how to think about risk, different types of investments, why diversification is important, and dollar-cost averaging. This month’s installment brings all these topics together...

Emotions are the enemy of successful investing. For long-term investors, dollar-cost averaging is a smart way to take the emotion out of investing and to eliminate the difficulty and uncertainty of trying to time the market.

Eggs play a starring role in diversification’s ubiquitous analogy—one we used in the Investing Road Trip©—and for good reason. If you drop a basket holding all your eggs, you’ll be out a lot of eggs. Spreading your eggs across several baskets is a good defense against the risks of...

Two of the most common investments are stocks and bonds. Chances are if you own a portfolio of investments, those two types of assets make up a significant part—or perhaps all—of it. For those who want to start investing, it’s essential to understand these common portfolio building...