Investment | Ostrander Financial

Investing should be easy – just buy low and sell high – but most of us have trouble following that simple advice. There are principles and strategies that may enable you to put together an investment portfolio that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. Understanding these principles and strategies can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that snare some investors.

Behavioral Finance

An amusing and whimsical look at behavioral finance best practices for investors.

Featured Presentation

5 Smart Investing Principles

Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

Have A Question About This Topic?

Inflation and Your Portfolio

Even low inflation rates can pose a threat to investment returns.

Inflation & Your Money

It's important to understand how inflation is reported and how it can affect investments.

The Junk Drawer Approach to Investing

It's easy to let investments accumulate like old receipts in a junk drawer.

All Muni Bonds Are Not Created Equal

Gaining a better understanding of municipal bonds makes more sense than ever.

Pullbacks, Corrections, and Bear Markets

When the market experiences volatility, it may be a good time to review these common terms.

Do Our Biases Affect Our Financial Choices?

Even the most seasoned investors have biases affecting their financial choices.

Asset Allocation

Consider how your assets are allocated and if that allocation is consistent with your time frame and risk tolerance.

Bull & Bear Markets: A Timeline

This helpful infographic will define bull and bear markets, as well as give a historical overview.

Estimating the Cost of College

This worksheet can help you estimate the costs of a four-year college program.

View all articles

What Is the Dividend Yield?

This calculator helps determine your pre-tax and after-tax dividend yield on a particular stock.

What Is My Risk Tolerance?

This questionnaire will help determine your tolerance for investment risk.

Impact of Taxes and Inflation

Estimate the potential impact taxes and inflation can have on the purchasing power of an investment.

Saving for College

This calculator can help you estimate how much you should be saving for college.

Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred Savings

Use this calculator to compare the future value of investments with different tax consequences.

Contributing to an IRA?

Determine if you are eligible to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA.

View all calculators

5 Smart Investing Principles

Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.

5 Smart Investing Strategies

There are some smart strategies that may help you pursue your investment objectives

View all presentations

The Rule of 72

Do you know how long it may take for your investments to double in value? The Rule of 72 is a quick way to figure it out.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

All about how missing the best market days (or the worst!) might affect your portfolio.

Bridging the Confidence Gap

In the world of finance, the effects of the "confidence gap" can be especially apparent.

Are Alternative Investments Right for You?

With alternative investments, it’s critical to sort through the complexity.

16 Wall Street Cliches in 60 Seconds

Pundits say a lot of things about the markets. Let's see if you can keep up.

Should I Invest in Gold?

Learning more about gold and its history may help you decide whether it has a place in your portfolio.