What do Johnny Unitas, Scottie Pippen and Mike Tyson all have in common?
If you said they’re former professional athletes, you win a door prize. The answer I was looking for is that all three ended up in bankruptcy court as a result of poor spending habits, bad investment advice or both.
Legendary quarterback Unitas lost big investing in restaurants, bowling alleys and real estate. Former Chicago Bulls star Pippen faulted his law firm for misguiding his decision to invest in a private jet. Meanwhile, Tyson, the former heavyweight champion of the world, squandered the more-than-$300 million he earned during his boxing career.
They’re not the only ones. In 2009, Sports Illustrated estimated that 60 percent of NBA players face bankruptcy just five years after retiring. For those in the NFL, that figure jumps to 78 percent.
To be fair, almost all of us have made investment decisions that didn’t pan out the way we had hoped. But the ugly truth is that when you’re successful and wealthy, you become the target of fraudsters and schemers. Just this Monday, in fact, a financial advisor pleaded guilty in federal court to accusations that he was plotting to defraud several NFL players.
Being scammed out of your retirement money or having to declare bankruptcy is a terrible thing for anyone to have to go through. But keep in mind that the typical career of a professional athlete is relatively short, lasting between three and five years. That means you have approximately 50 years’ worth of retirement to plan for.
So where do you start?
A Method to Preserve Capital
For high-net worth investors, a popular strategy to grow retirement money and receive tax-free income is through investment-grade municipal bonds—the very kind our Near-Term Tax Free Fund (NEARX) owns.
It’s true that for those who enjoy the high roller lifestyle, muni bonds don’t seem nearly as sexy as other investments such as restaurants and private jets.
But there’s nothing sexier than money, which is exactly what NEARX seeks to preserve through a diversified portfolio of high-quality munis with relatively short maturities. As you can see below, the higher the bond rating, the less likely it is for the issuer to default. Eighty percent of NEARX’s holdings fall into one of the four highest ratings.
Many loyal readers are probably familiar with the following chart, which has been modified to reflect the investment goals of someone with a lot of wealth. If he or she were to have invested a hypothetical $1,000,000 into an S&P 500 index fund in January 2000, it would have taken almost 14 years for it to catch up to and surpass a similar investment in NEARX.
Although we can’t guarantee how the fund will perform in the future, NEARX has historically shown a greater likelihood of dodging the dramatic swings and volatility in the equities market, similar to the ones we experienced during the first decade of the century—the dotcom bubble, for instance, and the Great Recession. And there will be times, of course, when products such as an S&P 500 index fund will strongly outperform NEARX.
The fund holds five stars overall from Morningstar, among 173 Municipal National Short-Term funds as of 12/31/2014, based on risk-adjusted return. That’s one star for every championship title our San Antonio Spurs have brought home to the Alamo City.
NEARX has also delivered an astounding 20 straight years of positive returns. For a majority of those years—since 1999—it’s been expertly managed by our director of research, John Derrick.
This is a rare achievement indeed.
So rare, in fact, that out of 25,000 equity and bond funds, only 30 have accomplished the same feat of delivering positive returns for 20 straight years, according to Lipper. As such, NEARX enjoys one of the most envied track records among its peers—just like the Spurs.
Please consider carefully a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and other important information, obtain a fund prospectus by visiting www.usfunds.com or by calling 1-800-US-FUNDS (1-800-873-8637). Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by U.S. Global Brokerage, Inc.
Total Annualized Returns as of 12/31/2014
Expense ratio as stated in the most recent prospectus. The expense cap is a contractual limit through December 31, 2015, for the Near-Term Tax Free Fund, on total fund operating expenses (exclusive of acquired fund fees and expenses, extraordinary expenses, taxes, brokerage commissions and interest).
Performance data quoted above is historical. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Results reflect the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings. For a portion of periods, the fund had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower.
Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted. The principal value and investment return of an investment will fluctuate so that your shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance does not include the effect of any direct fees described in the fund’s prospectus which, if applicable, would lower your total returns. Performance quoted for periods of one year or less is cumulative and not annualized. Obtain performance data current to the most recent month-end at
www.usfunds.com or 1-800-US-FUNDS.
Morningstar Ratings are based on risk-adjusted return. The Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year Morningstar Rating metrics. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund’s monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance.
The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.)
Bond funds are subject to interest-rate risk; their value declines as interest rates rise. Though the Near-Term Tax Free Fund seeks minimal fluctuations in share price, it is subject to the risk that the credit quality of a portfolio holding could decline, as well as risk related to changes in the economic conditions of a state, region or issuer. These risks could cause the fund’s share price to decline. Tax-exempt income is federal income tax free. A portion of this income may be subject to state and local taxes and at times the alternative minimum tax. The Near-Term Tax Free Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities that pay taxable interest. Income or fund distributions attributable to capital gains are usually subject to both state and federal income taxes.
The S&P 500 Stock Index is a widely recognized capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stock prices in U.S. companies.
A bond’s credit quality is determined by private independent rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch. Credit quality designations range from high (AAA to AA) to medium (A to BBB) to low (BB, B, CCC, CC to C).
Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper. Users acknowledge that they have not relied upon any warranty, condition, guarantee, or representation made by Lipper. Any use of the data for analyzing, managing, or trading financial instruments is at the user's own risk. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities.
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