Investing September 2, 2004

IRAs Still Going Strong After 30 Years

September 2, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Today, over 40% of American households hold IRAs, almost 30 years after they were signed into law under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) on Labor Day 1974 by President Gerald Ford.
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Since its creation almost 30 years ago, the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) has become one of the nation’s most important retirement savings tools. “Two generations of Americans have benefited from IRAs,” said Investment Company Institute President Paul Schott Stevens, in a press release. “This thirtieth anniversary is a notable milestone.”

The number of households owning IRAs increased from 29 million in 1996 to 45.2 million in 2003, with over $3 trillion invested in the accounts of which $1.3 trillion lies in mutual funds, according to the news release. IRAs were created as an incentive for workers to save for their retirements.

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Workers can contribute $3,000 this year to IRAs. Assets can grow free of current federal income tax liability. The contribution level will increase to $4,000 in 2005 and to $5,000 in 2008.

Investing September 1, 2004

REITs Nearly 8% Better in August

September 1, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The NAREIT Composite Index rose 7.88% in August and is now up 13.5% for the year on a total return basis.
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Strongest among the NAREIT Composite’s components was the Mortgage REIT Index that was up 8.14%, followed by a 7.94% return in   the Equity REIT Index.  The other two components were positive in August as well, with the Real Estate 50 Index return 7.65% and the Hybrid REIT Index returning 5.02%, according to data provided by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). 

August’s performance of the Composite followed a 0.04% July increase.

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By comparison in the broader markets, the S&P 500 ended the month up 0.04%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a 0.34% showing while the NASDAQ composite finished down 2.61%.

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