I hear a lot of financial advisors recommending to their clients to get out of debt. In years past, though it has been a while, I heard another set of advisors heartily recommending the strategic use of leverage. Apparently the “debt” word had become so distasteful to the general public that the pundits had to (Continued)
NOTE: This article was first published in January 2008. Are you a bull or a bear? Gosh, in today’s market I think most of us would prefer to be a mouse and hide in the back of the cupboard with our little piece of cheese! Frankly I hate the propaganda mill that is known as (Continued)
Recently in a piece written for Morningstar.com, Christine Benz had this to say about “When It Pays to Hire A Financial Professional”: Paying a financial planner an ongoing fee to handle every aspect of your financial plan can make sense if you’re extremely time-pressed or if your finances are particularly complicated. Ditto if you’re very (Continued)
Some years ago I read a pamphlet entitled The Pension Idea (Amazon says it is out of print, but you can find it by searching elsewhere) wherein the author pointed out the dubious origins, purposes and sustainability of pensions. I acknowledged the wisdom of his assessment, but didn’t think it had much practical applicability to (Continued)
I know this may sound strange coming from an investment professional, but I have come to HATE rate of return discussions. The way that most companies present investment “rate of return” to their prospective clients is generally so over-simplified and remote in time as to border on the ridiculous, if not in fact fraudulent. These (Continued)
What does financial planning mean to you? For most it is a periodic visit from a pushy life insurance salesman who never knows when to leave or an occasional visit from a relative, friend or classmate who seems to get out of the business as quickly as he got in. How has that worked out (Continued)
Blogger’s Note: This article was originally written in September 2009 as an email to clients. Here are a few excerpts from an article in this month’s Financial Planning magazine entitled: Better Than Nothing: Clients are piling up cash for both anticipated spending needs and future opportunities. But where do you put it? In the country (Continued)
Blogger’s note: Amended version of an email sent to clients in March, 2009. I came across this interesting statement in one of the most successful investment newsletters of the past 25 years: “Prudent investors keep a minimum of the next couple of year’s worth of living expenses out of the market.” Really!?! Other than from The (Continued)
I hate to be alarmist. And no, I am not trying to manipulate you through fear. In fact, my only concern is to protect you and your wealth from the vagaries of the financial markets and the appetite of the ever-expanding government. Recently some news reports have come out stating that the government is considering (Continued)
Blogger’s note: This message was originally sent out in July, 2008, at the height of that year’s market meltdown. During times of economic and market turmoil like we are seeing today, I invariably get asked: “Is it time to cash out and head for the hills?” What they are really asking is what does the (Continued)