For those in your fifties or sixties, think back to your first job when you entered the work force. I still remember how ecstatic I was when I landed that […]
Clarity Coaching Tips
Here you will find many tidbits of coaching and financial information that often needs to be clarified for most American investors. Some of the information is very basic and in the form of a current market update. Some of the information is timely topics, based on current social political and economic climate. Some of these are strategies, ideas, and concepts that we have picked up through the years and implemented in our practice. Basically a soup to nuts area of information on all things financial.
Check out our Clarity Coaching Video Clips and the “It’s Your Money” podcasts for more tidbits that might pique your interest.
The Boys of Summer: 2013 Market Returns
07/17/2013 by
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index is up 13.8% half-way through the year. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) index is up almost as much, at 12.6%, but the markets didn’t rise over […]
Why Not GIPS?
06/10/2013 by
I was just reviewing our 20 year returns recently for all of our portfolios and was pleasantly surprised how well the market has performed in the last 20 years. Despite […]
Looking Out for Mr. Ponzi
04/11/2013 by
This summer Bernie Madoff will be celebrating his 4th anniversary in federal prison, 146 years to go. Madoff masterminded the largest Ponzi Scheme (slang for financial scam) in world history. […]
Don’t You Bet Your Life On It!
02/20/2013 by
This is a famous line, used many times, by the western actor John Wayne. When you think about it, every day we bet our life on decisions we make, from […]
Active Management or Active Hype?
02/12/2013 by
Well, the market must be up, we’re seeing it again. It’s all over the TV, radio, and popular financial press, that you can easily identify the Active Mutual Funds that […]
Boomers: Children & Chaos
02/06/2013 by
The WealthCounsel® and Trusts & Estates® Magazine recently published an Annual Industry Trends Survey. The survey compiled data from roughly 1500 industry professionals primarily made up of Attorneys, CPAs, Financial […]
Your Worst Financial Mistake
01/23/2013 by
Have you ever given thought to what might have been your worst financial mistake? For many, the answer does not become apparent until hindsight arrives. Regrettably, many baby boomers and […]
Hey Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
12/19/2012 by
Does it make sense to rely on CD’s for your retirement? Looking at inflation and monetary policy of the past, it’s not a good idea! But yet I see this […]
Fiscal Cliff: Blah Blah Blah
12/14/2012 by
How many of you are tired of all the talk on the fiscal cliff, including the non ending stream of opinion and regurgitated sound bites?? May I suggest we spend […]
Scaling the Cliff
11/09/2012 by
“BUSINESS WEEK” – Approximately 88% of American households will see a tax increase if this so called “fiscal cliff” is not averted by Congress by December 31, 2012. The payroll […]
Medicare Enrollment
10/18/2012 by
I hope this finds you well! I have had a number of inquiries about Medicare recently. At the bottom you will find a link to a short video where we outlined the Medicare plan and the enrollment time frames, as well as penalties that can be avoided.
Prudence not Prognostication
09/13/2012 by
According to the Wall Street Journal, 21 of Fidelity’s Mutual Funds dumped nearly two million Facebook shares in June, less than two months after this “IPO (Initial Public Offering) of the Century” went public. Over that brief period of time, this wildly anticipated and super-hyped stock plummeted to almost half of its original price.
Do we own, or did we own Facebook shares in any of our investment portfolios? The answer is a resounding NO! As with any new public offering, Facebook does not meet the screening criteria of Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), the primary investment company we use in the development of our portfolios. To put it simply, at this stage of its corporate life, Facebook is just too risky for too many of our clients.
What Would Grandpa Say?
09/05/2012 by
Many of you may already know we are not fans of municipal bonds. In fact, we do not hold any municipal bonds in any of our investment portfolios because we think they are too risky. I bet that surprises a lot of people, especially retirees. My astute, well read, late grandfather would be shocked to hear this, having retired from Ma Bell after 42 years, an old school, buy American, blue chip investor. That’s because many advisors routinely recommend that retirees buy and live off of the income generated by supposedly safe individual municipal bonds.
401(K) Fee Disclosures Now Required by DOL
07/13/2012 by
More often than not, when I ask a client about their 401(k) fee structure or plan cost, the answer I get is, “There is no cost. My company uses no-load mutual funds. It’s free.”
A survey sponsored by AARP, found that 71% of retirement plan participants believed they did not pay any fees at all. This is understandable, but shocking! That’s because this information is rarely disclosed.
The impact of fees and commissions on your retirement can be significant. This is especially true if your plan selections include variable annuities.
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