How To: Synology DS1819+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review & Migration

We just upgraded our Synology NAS units from Synology’s prior model, DS1817+ to their latest model, DS1819+. In my previous article, I reviewed not just the DS1817+ chassis but also the M2D17 M.2 SATA SSD expansion card. I also covered software features including downloadable Synology and third-party applications, the file system, file sharing, synchronization & backup, and security. Continue reading How To: Synology DS1819+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review & Migration

Plex’s New Video Player for iOS and tvOS

Plex recently released new versions of its iPhone, iPad (iOS) and Apple TV (tvOS) apps, which contain a new, advanced video engine based on the open source MPV video player. Previously, the Plex iOS and tvOS apps used Apple’s native AVPlayer. Because the Apple TV (and, by extension, AVPlayer) is primarily intended for the playback of streamed content, its codec support is comparatively limited (e.g. h.265 or h.264 for video and AC3 and AAC for audio). Continue reading Plex’s New Video Player for iOS and tvOS

Investing for Retirement: Estate Planning

You should work with your attorney and tax specialist to craft an estate plan that reflects your personal needs. What is the primary goal of your estate plan? Avoid taxes? Providing for your family? Charitable giving? Have you defined the primary beneficiaries of your estate? What is your plan for giving to your heirs? If you have minor children, have you named both guardians for them and trustees for your estate? Do you have life insurance? Is it enough? Who are the beneficiaries? Do you have long-term care insurance? Continue reading Investing for Retirement: Estate Planning

Investing for Retirement: Annuities

Recall the primary goal of retirement investing: do not save so little that you outlive your savings. This is particularly important when the U.S. life expectancy continues to increase due to advances in medicine. Properly constructed, an annuity ensures that you will be able to afford a continuing care contract and any ancillary costs for the rest of your life. When you purchase an annuity, you trade off your mortality risk for a fixed dollar amount. The annuity issuer spreads longevity risk across a large population. If you pass away earlier than annuity tables predict, then you effectively forfeit the remainder (purchase price minus sums paid) to the issuer of the annuity. However, if you live longer than the annuity population’s average, you benefit from the annuity. Regardless, you have peace of mind and ensure that you will not be a burden to your children. Continue reading Investing for Retirement: Annuities

Investing for Retirement: Diversifying Across Securities, Asset Classes, and Time

Innovation is based on clarity, consistency, predictability relative to the market, and low cost. Innovation provides an optimal opportunity that it will work tomorrow rather than innovation based on what worked yesterday. Innovation that not only minimizes that risks of ownership but clearly explains the nature and extent of those risks. Continue reading Investing for Retirement: Diversifying Across Securities, Asset Classes, and Time

Investing for Retirement: Value Averaging

Value averaging is a combination of two things: dollar cost averaging, and portfolio rebalancing. Combining dollar cost averaging and portfolio rebalancing: (1) you buy more assets when prices are low and fewer when prices are high, and (2) you allocate more money to stocks when equity prices are low and less to stocks when equity prices are high. Therefore, value averaging permits higher returns than dollar cost averaging alone. Continue reading Investing for Retirement: Value Averaging

Investing for Retirement: Asset Allocation & Building a Diversified Portfolio

The central challenge to long-term investing is not how to increase returns; instead, it is how to manage risk. The solution is to construct a diversified portfolio tailored to your particular risk tolerance. Overall, it is key that you understand how your portfolio behaves during changing market and economic conditions so that you can stick with your desired asset allocation. Continue reading Investing for Retirement: Asset Allocation & Building a Diversified Portfolio

Investing for Retirement: Asset Classes That Individual Investors Should Avoid

For individual investors, non-core asset classes fail at least one of David Swenson’s rules. There are a number of fixed income investments that serve no valuable portfolio role for almost any investor. And, there are a number of actively managed asset classes that are only suitable for extremely sophisticated institutional investors, capable of investing in illiquid markets and possessing very long time horizons. Continue reading Investing for Retirement: Asset Classes That Individual Investors Should Avoid