“The problem with the shutdown is not that President Trump is holding the government ‘hostage,’ as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, but that the government has taken hostage of too much of the U.S. economy,” writes Chris Edwards editor of www.DownsizingGovernment.org at the Cato Institute, a Washington, DC.,-based think tank focused on limited government. When security at the nation’s 450 commercial airports depends on the government—a shutdown matters explains Edwards pointing out that a spokesman for the TSA screener’s union said this Tuesday: “Some of [my members] have already quit … [Read more...]
Does Your Investment Advisor Take Legal Kickbacks behind Your Back?
When you seek investment council be sure you work with an investment boutique that’s required by law to act as your fiduciary. Ask the question: “Are you required by law to act as my fiduciary.” Do not accept any answer other than Y-E-S. Because too many professionals in this industry put themselves out there as “Investment Advisors” or “Financial Advisor” when in reality they are neither. In order to legally call yourself an investment advisor you are required to act as a fiduciary. So called “advisors” working for big Wall Street firms are not required by law to be your … [Read more...]
Get Ready! The Annuity Onslaught is On
If you haven’t received an email selling you an annuity, get ready because the annuity onslaught is on. Yesterday I received one promising 4%. The fine print explains the egregious sales charges, penalties for early withdrawal (in case you need YOUR money), and a minimum holding period of five years. And your payment is contingent on the insurer being able to pay you. Let’s rewind here for a moment to the debacle that was 2008. If you recall, the insurance sector was on life support with big name insurers trading at less than $5 a share. And that’s not including the need for some to be … [Read more...]
Tucker Explains: Families are being Crushed by Market Forces
Anyone driving through rural New England knows this part of America is not open for business. Take a drive up route 16N in New Hampshire up to North Conway and you’ll see what I mean. And yet upon visiting Boston, New York City, and Washington D.C., it’s hard to miss the cranes dotting the skyscape. These cities and others are the islands of opportunity out of sight to much of America. The America that I grew up in is gone. Gone are towns like mine where my dad was a realtor and my mom was a teacher and my sister and I had dinner with them at night and we believed in the American … [Read more...]
Is Mikaela Shiffrin the World’s Best Athlete?
As Barry Svrluga writes in The Washington Post, there comes a time in each great athlete's career where they become so dominant they must be compared across time rather than to their same-sport contemporaries. I’ve written about Mikaela Shiffrin before. Then, as now, I agree with Bode Miller--I’m not sure we’ve ever seen anyone better in the sport of skiing, male or female. At a certain point, the manner in which the best in any field evaluate themselves can’t be against other practitioners of that same pursuit. LeBron isn’t measured against his contemporaries; he’s measured against … [Read more...]
“Trees Don’t Grow to the Sky and I see Clouds…”
In Springsteen on Broadway now showing on Netflix, Bruce Springsteen talks fondly of a big copper beech tree in front of his childhood home that was a symbol of times when he was able to escape life for a little while and be with his army men and play. Years later when writing his book, he jumps in his car and goes back to where he grew up and that big ‘ole tree was gone. It’s a powerful segment in his wonderful performance. One that’s still with me and one I think you will love too. Trees don’t grow to the sky. And sometimes they’re cut down. But in the case of Springsteen, the soul … [Read more...]
2019: Promise Me You’ll Do this One Thing
Get 2019 off on the right foot and bring some peace of mind to your portfolio. One way to help clear your mind is to get out of the prediction business. Lot’s of words are wasted this time of year with articles predicting the future. Don’t let them mess up your voyage. I want you to imagine that you’re in the midst of a months long Atlantic crossing. Your job is to trim the sails and hold your course, and yes watch the weather. But now is not the time to re-outfit your ship simply because it's January. It's an emotional time of year. Don't let it get the best of you. Take a deep … [Read more...]
A 2019 Survival Guy Investment Strategy
Last year Vanguard GNMA made just under one percent or 0.87% for 2018 as interest payments offset a decline in bond prices from rising interest rates. As I’ve written to you before, you don’t want to be in the interest rate prediction business. You simply want to collect your interest payments and let the chips fall as they may. When you near retirement your success as an investor depends on a nine to five mentality—work nine to five to steadily save money for retirement and invest to keep what you’ve saved. It’s that simple. A survival guy investment strategy helps you to win the war … [Read more...]
American Municipalities Offer Less Info, More Debt
You might think that after the blunders of the recent past, public borrowers would have learned the lessons of 2008, but that would be wrong. Rather than increasing the information available, municipalities are providing less transparency to lenders. Gunjan Banerji and Heather Gillers write in The Wall Street Journal: U.S. cities and counties are using fewer ratings to assess the risks of the bonds they sell, providing investors with just one opinion on an increasing amount of new debt. Roughly 25% of the dollar value of all municipal debt issued this year carried a single grade from one … [Read more...]
In Retirement Stop Working, Start Earning. Here’s How
Despite the recent market turbulence, there is one group of investors who have so far been insulated by good decisions they made long ago. Dividend investors have collected their payments regularly, as those who invested looking to sell to the "greater fool," in the future have been tossed on a sea of volatility. If you are serious about a retirement portfolio you can count on, making dividends and income a central focus in your investment plan would be a great start. You shouldn't have to work throughout your retirement, and you should have a portfolio of investments that earns year … [Read more...]
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