We are often asked why we like Vanguard and Fidelity. Below is an excerpt from the February 2014 issue of Richard C. Young's Intelligence Report in which Dick Young explains his history with Jack Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group. As we all know, there is only one Vanguard. P.P.S. In 2014, investors poured $216 billion into the Vanguard Group, which today is #1 in index-tracking products. I have been with Vanguard from the start. Vanguard founder Jack Bogle was at Wellington Management back in the early seventies in Boston. Wellington was an institutional account of mine in the years I was … [Read more...]
Cyber Attacks: Are You Safe with Vanguard?
October is Cyber Security awareness month. There's probably no online account more important for you to protect than your retirement nest egg. It's your life's savings, and everything you've been working toward for decades. See here how Vanguard protects clients' data and accounts from cyber attack. … [Read more...]
October is Cyber Security Month: Advice from Fidelity
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which I discovered logging in to my account this morning at Fidelity Investments. I thought you’d like to read their recommendations. The easiest part of protecting yourself is choosing a rugged, unique password. By rugged I mean a password that isn't something easily guessed by a hacker's word-list. Examples of easily guessed passwords that are used often are things like "password," "1234," "default," or "1111." Read more below from Fidelity about protecting your accounts with a strong password. Do not reuse passwords Make sure you use … [Read more...]
Is Your Bank Vulnerable to ATM Cyberattacks?
Your investment success/survival is a series of smart decisions. For example, using a chip-enabled ATM and/or credit card bolsters your line of defense against cyber attacks. On our recent trip to Paris I was reminded how far ahead Europe is when it comes to chip readers. They are the norm—as you insert your card into the portable reader that they bring to your table. But that’s not the case here in the U.S. where waiters take your card from you (possibly copying it) and it’s swiped without you being present. Chip tech in the U.S. is becoming more prevalent, but can still be a slow process. … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Sage Advice on How to Get Ahead
You don’t have to start your own business to be an entrepreneur. That was some key advice I recall from the late Tom Stemberg, founder of Staples, when he spoke at Babson College—known for its entrepreneurship programs. Stemberg felt that the best way to continue a business education was by working for a company that was already established—a leader in their field. His idea was to absorb as much as possible, and then, after seeing how the sausage was made, determine if you had the stomach to really do something on your own. I was reminded of this sage advice from Stemberg during a recent … [Read more...]
You’ll be Astonished by the Epic Number of Billionaires in China!
The BBC reports that China has surpassed the number of billionaires in America. The Middle Kingdom recorded a list of 594 of the ultra-wealthy citizens, to America's 535. BBC writes: The annual list is compiled by Shanghai publishers Hurun and often compared to the Forbes list in the US. The Hurun Report's rich list is one of the most closely-watched and accurate assessments of wealth in China. The annual report has been published for the past 18 years. Earlier this year, the publisher released a separate, global list, showing that the number of billionaires in China outnumbered those … [Read more...]
Is Your Governor Making the Grade? Part II
My friend Chris Edwards has done an exhaustive analysis of the trends in state spending, and the performance of the governors of each state. Apart from his ranking of the governors, what struck me in his report "FISCAL POLICY REPORT CARD ON AMERICA’S GOVERNORS 2016," was the frightening trend of increased spending in state budgets. Edwards writes: Figure 1 shows state general fund spending since 2000, based on data from the National Association of State Budget Officers.2 Spending soared between 2002 and 2008, and then it fell during the recession as states trimmed their budgets.3 Spending has … [Read more...]
Is Your Governor Making the Grade, Part I?
My friend Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at Cato Institute, examines the fiscal performance of the nation's governors. With the growing revenues of recent years, most states have balanced their short-term budgets without major problems, but many states face large challenges ahead. Medicaid costs are rising, and federal aid for this huge health program will likely be reduced in coming years. At the same time, many states have high levels of unfunded liabilities in their pension and retiree health plans. Those factors will create pressure for states to raise taxes. Yet global … [Read more...]
RAGE Gauge: October Not Surprising to Me
Non-farm employers added 156,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate edged up 0.1% to 5%. The participation rate rose slightly to 62.9%, while 94,184,000 Americans were not in the labor force, 207,000 fewer than in August. Interest rates plunged in September after the Fed, as we expected, did nothing with rates, and are back up now. Not much good to report on “dissatisfaction with the country.” Gold is well below $1,300 at $1,254. If it was a good value last month, it’s a better one today. Background checks broke another monthly record in September as concerns mount about the future of … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Will Your Family Survive the Money Crisis?
“So where have we retired? The local airport is our retirement home and will be for the next 10-years,” wrote my new friend Nancy in response to my “Your Retirement Life” series. “My husband just retired at 70 from pastoring a local small church for 35 years. For many years it was full time work, on a part time salary. I still work part time as a nurse locally and we homeschooled 6 of the 7 children K-12. We now have 23 grandchildren in 4 far away states. Ideally we’d ALL like to live closer…but those jobs!!!!” I emailed Nancy, to thank her for sharing her story, and asked if she would have … [Read more...]
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