In all these years, I have been asked multiple times on my opinions about Robo-Advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront. In general, I think they are great options for people who just get started without a lot of money to invest. They can also be used by experienced people or even professionals to manage a portion of their portfolio. After all, a Robo-Advisor is just a portfolio management tool to help us invest. The question comes down to if you are using it correctly or not. From what I know, many people are probably not.

How much cumulative returns do you need to recover from a 50% market drawdown? Most of you know it is 100%, not 50%. What percentage of an annualized compound rate of return or Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) do you need to get a 100% total return to recover from the loss in three, five, and ten years? How about a more typical 20% or 30% loss? Also, what's the average annualized equity market return after 10%, 15%, 20% market decline in one, three, and five years? You will find all these numbers here.

Last week, we shared some charts and statistics to help you calm down emotionally during the market meltdown. This week we will talk about some opportunities and strategies you could consider logically.

Global markets have been extremely volatile recently. Many investors are freaking out and do not know what to do. I know you do not because you have been reading and learning from different sources, including my blog posts. You knew volatility is part of the market and you would experience some market turmoils like this in your lifetime, so you built a plan and you are prepared. Having said that, you may still feel some uncertainty or a little anxious when you are actually experiencing it like now. These feelings are so natural since we are not robots. Human has emotions. The key is to remember that emotions are our enemies when it comes to investing, and we should stick to our plan. This week I would like to share with you some of my favorite charts and statistics about market volatility to help you calm down a little more emotionally. Next week I will share with you a few things that you may want to check with your own plan.

When it comes to real estate investing, many people would only think of rentals. Buying a rental home and renting it out is probably one of the most popular and comfortable ways for many people to invest in real estate. However, like other things in life, there is no such thing that is the best for everyone. I have seen people are buying rental homes because they want to invest in real estate but know nothing better. I have seen people keep their rental property that doesn't make economic sense, even they think it does. On the other hand, I have also seen people keep complaining about being a landlord. There are so many other types of real estate, along with many different ways to invest. This week I will share with you an index chart I use when I educate my clients on real estate investing. It doesn't have all the detailed explanations for each category, but it serves the purpose as an index or a reference chart for you to learn most of the options you have when it comes to real estate investing.

It's tax season again. As always, people start to reach out and want to see if there is any way they can save some taxes for last year. My answer to them is always this: you are asking the right question but at the wrong time. Tax planning for a year needs to be done way before December 31 of that year, not the following year. You could learn some of the tax planning strategies from my previous blog post "10 Tax Planning Opportunities Before Year-End For Individuals". Having said that, there are still three things that you may be able to do before the tax due date to improve your tax situation now or in the long run.