I had a great conversation with a client yesterday who told me he has finally decided to retire. He could have retired years ago but continued working because working is what he knew how to do. He said it’s scary thinking about retirement not only from a financial point of view but from a personal point of view it’s just as hard. Retirement and the thought of retirement can be filled with doubt and uncertainty. In other words, answering the question “What am I going to do?” can be a challenge. I have found in speaking with clients who are in or nearing retirement that this is a common … [Read more...]
This State is Number One
I have a number of clients who live in Iowa and are glad they do, especially when reports like this one from U.S. News and World Report come out. Why would anyone stick around in a high tax blue state if they don't have to? This is not some statistical aberration. Folks want to live where their money is going to be treated with some decency and respect. Jeff Charis-Carlson writes about what makes Iowa so great: Iowa may be better known for its corn, caucuses and creative writing programs, but the Hawkeye state also leads the nation in efforts to bring ultra-fast internet access to every … [Read more...]
New Fiduciary Rules Force Annuity Sales Plunge
It turns out, when brokers are forced to look out for your interests instead of their own, they end up selling you fewer annuities. I've been a critic of annuities for years (decades?). Loaded with fees and backed by guarantees that are only as good as the banks behind them, annuities are hawked like a snake-oil retirement solution to unsuspecting investors. I wrote back in 2014 that: The issue is that annuities are sold with a full-court press on those that don’t invest for a living. They’re promised rates of return that sound good on paper but will be wiped out if the insurer goes … [Read more...]
Could this Be the Vanguard GNMA Winning Edge?
Update: 7.1.2020: From Wellington: “Effective at the close of business on June 30, 2020, Michael F. Garrett has retired from Wellington Management Company LLP and no longer serves as a portfolio manager for Vanguard GNMA Fund. Brian Conroy and Joseph F. Marvan remain as the portfolio managers of the Fund.” Originally posted June 7, 2017. Do you know Michael F. Garrett? There’s no reason that you should, but to me, the Senior Managing Director at Wellington Management Company LLP in Boston, Massachusetts might be one of the most important names in the fixed-income world today. He’s the … [Read more...]
Forbes: Weakening Dollar Trend Isn’t Good
“Everyone understands the basic need for fixed weights and measures in daily life: the amount of liquid in a gallon, the number of ounces in a pound, the number of minutes in an hour. None of these amounts fluctuate; they are unchanging,” writes Steve Forbes. Here’s his latest Fact & Comment on the greenback. The dollar. Markets are finally waking up to the implications of the weak dollar, which has been declining for months. The greenback’s slide has been nowhere as bad as it was in the early 2000s, but the trend isn’t good. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin let the cat out of the bag a … [Read more...]
Dividends are on the Rise
Dividends are the backbone of the Retirement Compounders. Now Michael Wursthorn reports in The Wall Street Journal that dividends are on the rise. Dividends are on the rise when investors have fewer reasons to buy the stocks that pay them out. More than a fifth of the companies in the S&P 500 have boosted their dividends to shareholders so far this year, while none have slashed their payouts, a first since 2011, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The increases are getting bigger too, with companies on average raising their payouts by 14%, the biggest jump since 2014. The … [Read more...]
Don’t Put Your Greed too far Ahead of Your Fear
This morning The Wall Street Journal tells the story of Harvey Hajiyan, a financial adviser who has been making big bets in the market on margin. In speaking to the Journal, Hajiyan said a phrase that should be a warning bell to any investor "all the strategists agreed." Any time everyone is in agreement on something, you should pick your head up and take note. Someone isn't pricing in risk properly, and if you're just coasting along with the crowd, that someone is you. Use Mr. Hajiyan's tale as a reminder of what happens when investors put greed too far ahead of fear. The Journal's Michael … [Read more...]
How Not to Choose Your Investment Advisor
When financial advisors take it too far to embellish their credentials, it’s the investor who typically pays the price no matter how well-intentioned an advisor may be. In this case you have advisors giving speeches outside of Harvard and West Point with no affiliation to the institutions what so ever and taking credit as being invited guests. The huckster putting these gigs together is Clint Arthur, a former taxi driver and butter salesman who, according to columnist Jason Zweig, “trains businesspeople—including, so far, about three dozen financial advisers—in media skills.” “In order … [Read more...]
Are You a Baby Boomer with a Retirement Income Problem?
Originally posted October 23, 2017. You need income in retirement. It’s that simple. But to many, retirement income, and the lack thereof, is a problem that will never be solved. Over the weekend I read an article in the local paper about how dreadfully ill-prepared the Baby Boomer generation is when it comes to retirement income. And it’s a subject that comes up quite often in my conversations with prospective clients. They ask me, “How will I get income from my investments?” After I explain how we construct portfolios, I tell them that a good rule of thumb is to draw no more than … [Read more...]
Take a Drive with Us to Cannon Mtn. in the Live Free or Die State
Over the President’s Day weekend we hit the slopes of New Hampshire skiing Attitash, Wildcat, Sunday River, and Cannon. In this video, drive with us from Bartlett, where we have a log cabin, through the White Mountain National Forest to ski Cannon Mountain. It was a typical New England weekend with rain, sleet, snow, and wind, and yet you’d never know it in this video. Check it out. Click here to watch the video on Yoursurvivalguy.com. … [Read more...]
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