Managing five finance trends

Your financial plan needs to keep pace with larger socioeconomic trends. Here are smart ways to manage the five trends that we think are important to you over the next five years.

1. Your cash and bank savings accounts will continue to earn next to nothing. The combination of too much global debt,aging demographics and low energy prices force many countries in the developed world to lower the interest rates they pay on short-term notes. European countries are paying negative interest rates to short-term lenders, meaning the lenders must pay a fee to own debt securities.

Global economic growth remains muted, and there's little reason for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates significantly over the next five years. This means that savers and investors continue to earn very low returns on their savings and fixed income portfolios.

To do: The distinct downside of this trend is an increase of the overall risk and volatility of your investment portfolios. To earn higher returns, you have to modestly increase your allocation to global stocks and real estate. Continue reading at USA Today....

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