If you didn’t lose your patience and held your bonds over the last year, then you know it was a perfect example for why you own them. Case in point, Vanguard GNMA ended the last 52-weeks up 4.46% and its recent 30-day SEC yield was 3.06%. The catalyst for much of the recent gains? The midterms and the Fed—socialists storming the castle, and pathetically lower rates. Whether you own treasuries, agencies and/or corporates, avoid the temptations of predictions or your gut. Because you just might end up being wrong. My April Rage Gauge has backed-off from last month, making it a perfect time to … [Read more...]
New Jersey Opens a New Front in the Fiduciary Fight
Over the last few years the battle over the fiduciary duty of financial advisors has been fought at the federal level, but now New Jersey, a state that is home to many financial firms, is opening a new front in the war. New Jersey's governor wants to force financial firms registered in New Jersey to adopt a fiduciary standard. I encourage all investors to find advisors held to a fiduciary standard, as it's the only way to ensure an advisor has the clients' best interests in mind. Other advisors held to the much lower 'suitability standard' could be more willing to fill their clients' … [Read more...]
Happy Tax Freedom Day!
It's April 16th, and yesterday Americans' income taxes were due to the IRS. Coincidentally, today is Tax Freedom Day, and until today, the average American has been working to pay off his taxes for 2019. According to the Tax Foundation, "Tax Freedom Day® is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year." The Tax Foundation breaks down exactly how much time Americans spent paying off the different types of taxes in 2019, writing "This year, Americans will work the longest to pay federal, state, and local individual income taxes (42 days). … [Read more...]
Are You Benefiting from the Miracle of Compounding in Your Life?
Once you venture down the path of self-reliance and survival, you quickly realize it can be an expensive endeavor. Stop. Take a deep breath. This is a marathon. Set your own pace. I try to eliminate the financial stress on you and your family every single day by helping you avoid the costly investing mistakes that cause distress for many. For example, in my recent series I wrote to you about long-term investment success that is easy to understand but hard to do. And I’m not talking about the guy you know who timed the market perfectly. The next time he tells you that ask to look at his … [Read more...]
Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing: Part IV
The answer to the question of whether long-term investing is dead or alive comes down to my favorite three letters in the alphabet: Y.O.U. When I speak with investors, most of our conversation is about what’s going on at that moment in their lives: Driving to their second home, getting ready for an exercise class, recovering from hip, knee or shoulder surgery, running to a meeting, running (walking) to rehab, or winding down from a busy work trip or a European tour. With so much attention today given to robo-advisors, financial planning and one stop investing, it’s hard to know which way … [Read more...]
Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing: Part III
“If the phone doesn’t ring it’s me” -- Jimmy Buffett It’s funny how time heals temporary temptations and laps of reason. I wrote the piece below on October 16, 2014. Then the Dow was down from a recent peak and investors were scared. But those who followed their long-term investment plan and didn't panic, made it through. Yesterday the Dow closed at 26,157.16. Investors who panicked and sold missed all that. Tomorrow markets could drop again, but if you prepare yourself with a diversified, income focused portfolio and the determination to stick to an investment plan that avoids risk whenever … [Read more...]
Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing: Part II
Ask anyone if they’re a long-term investor and nine out of ten will tell you they are most definitely long-term investors. That is, unless something crazy happens to the market. It’s like the profile pieces you read about someone’s workout and eating regimen. Every minute of the day is carefully planned, and it seems every person profiled sticks to salads topped with salmon and the occasional piece of dark chocolate. In the real-world, life gets in the way, and it gets messy. OK, maybe it’s doable if you don’t have kids, or a job, or grandchildren, or any other fabric of life that makes it … [Read more...]
Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing
Is long-term investing dead? You would think so reading even my favored Wall Street Journal as it beats the drum for the future robo-advisors—a model that makes decisions based on an algorithm and human input (a phone rep fresh out of college) to determine your financial future. Sounds good on paper. We’ll see how well they do when markets crater and the phone lines light up like a Christmas tree. It’s happened twice already this century, and that’s when it matters most. Everyone knows that long-term investment success is hard. Maybe not everyone. I’m being too generous. But listen, if … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Park City, Utah
Greetings from Deer Valley, Utah. This picture of Becky and me was taken from the chairlift at Deer Valley. We were there in early March and I think we were smiling because it was the first time we saw the sun. It was a snowy trip to say the least, where it felt like you were skiing inside a snow globe. Most of our trip was spent skiing Park City and the Canyons. We stayed in the Silver Star area, with a chairlift and café by the same name that made it feel like your own resort within a gigantic resort. Getting to Park City is a piece of cake. We took a late afternoon flight out of … [Read more...]
Illinois Politicians Trying to Kill Local Employee Freedom Initiatives
Big Labor is strong in Illinois, and it has marshaled its forces against attempts by local politicians to free their constituencies from the state's burdensome forced unionization laws. Illinois State House politicians are working hard to get a law to the governor banning any individual towns or cities from exercising freedom against Big Labor. Greg Bishop reports for the Illinois News Network: No local government in Illinois would be able to restrict collective bargaining issues for public or private unions under a measure that is one step closer to being sent to the governor’s … [Read more...]
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