For decades high tax states have been treating their wealthiest residents like a bank account, with money to be withdrawn whenever state legislators had a new pet project to fund. In the past, wealthy residents were tied down to places like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut because of their proximity to centers of industry like Wall Street. Today though, the internet allows wealthy executives to operate their businesses from almost anywhere. With this newfound freedom, many wealthy residents of high tax states have been fleeing for places like Florida, where they get to keep more of … [Read more...]

Over the weekend I received this email from a client: Hi EJ, My recently departed friend, George B. of Putney, Vermont was a volunteer driver delivering lunches to Meals on Wheels clients in the Brattleboro area. Ronald Read was on his route. George was stunned to learn that Mr. Read had accumulated so much wealth. Thought you might find this of interest. Also, George was a fellow grad of Northeastern University, 10 years before me. Regards, David L. David had read about Ronald Read in Dick Young’s Intelligence Report of May 2015. Dick wrote then: Pumping Gas to the Tune of $8 … [Read more...]

Just how long will wealthy Californians accept being used as an ATM machine by the state's legislators? For years Democrats have said their ever-increasing taxes don't drive wealthy people away from the state. A new study says that theory is false. In fact, the study suggests higher taxes in California increased the number of wealthy residents fleeing by 40%. Americans do, in fact, want to leave their high tax states. The Editors at The Wall Street Journal write: Democrats in California have raised taxes on the rich again and again, and liberals claim it has no effect on taxpayer … [Read more...]

Darla Mercado reports at CNBC: Fidelity has terminated a $500 million relationship with Fisher Investments, bringing the total yanked from the money manager to almost $1.8 billion. Officials at the giant Boston-based asset manager confirmed it would end its relationship with Fisher on Monday, in light of inappropriate comments founder Ken Fisher made at an investment conference on Oct. 8. Fisher managed $500 million in assets for Fidelity’s Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund. “Fisher Investments does not provide investment advisory services for any portion of the assets of … [Read more...]

You may have read about my client Dr. Lee earlier this week, how we’ve been working together for 16 years, and the story behind the homemade “Thank You EJ” sign in the picture. I want you to read his response to my post and share it with everyone whose financial security you care about. Part of my effort on your behalf is to help you avoid inertia, get into the compounding game, and always be prepared for the worst. Always think about your risks first and realize the success you and your family deserve. It’s that simple. Here's what he wrote: Well said. Hope people listen. It’s not … [Read more...]

The financial industry is full of anecdotes and stories by writers (myself included) providing their own perspective on events. The FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement is blessed with many blogs and podcasts discussing the early retirement journeys. But anecdotes never tell the whole story, so I want to give you some numbers on the FIRE movement. These numbers were assembled by a Harris Poll conducted for TD Ameritrade. How Many People Are Aware of the FIRE Movement? 11% Know about FIRE 26% Are familiar with the concept but not the term 63% Are not familiar with … [Read more...]