What the experts say

Birthday for a bull

Last week marked the first birthday of the bull market in stocks, and if history is any indication, this bull will be around for its second, said Adam Shell in USA Today. “You have to go back to 1947 to find a bull rally that didn’t last at least 24 months.” While investors “shouldn’t expect the same kind of shoot-the-lights-out–type returns” they saw this past year, optimists say there are several reasons to expect at least another year of gains. “Two of the biggest rally-killers”—interest-rate hikes and inflation spikes—are not an imminent threat. Meanwhile, investors still have an estimated $7 trillion in cash sitting on the sidelines. Of course, that itself is a sign that investors are still skittish, says Michael Farr, of money management firm Farr, Miller & Washington. “Yell ‘Boo!’ and they may all run for the door at once.”

Diversification isn’t dead

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Last year’s market debacle left virtually no asset class unscathed, raising doubts about the value of a diversified portfolio, said Paul Lim in Money. But that was an extremely unusual situation. Under normal economic conditions, assets don’t all move in sync, and “that’s when diversification reasserts its case.” Because world regions are “recovering at different paces,” your portfolio should span the globe. You should also pay close attention to how much you’re paying. Last year, assets were relatively cheap across the board. Now that the “situation isn’t so clear,” you’ll want to make sure your portfolio includes a healthy mix of value shares, including health care, industrials, and “beaten-down blue chips.”

The new gold standard

A new type of credit card takes the idea of a “gold” card to a whole new level, said Aleksandra Todorova in SmartMoney. The Gold Bullion credit card, issued by Boca Raton, Fla.–based Gold Solutions Marketing, lets cardholders spend up to 75 percent of the value of their own gold bullion coins (which have to be sent to the Delaware Deposit Service Co. for safekeeping). If your credit is bad, you’re tight on cash, and you don’t want to unload your gold, this niche card could actually be better than a traditionally secured card, says CardRatings.com’s Curtis Arnold. But if you qualify for a regular credit card, you really “needn’t bother.”