You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have fun with your family, but it certainly helps. My family just returned from an incredible trip out west beginning at a ranch in Montana, then to Yellowstone National Park, and down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This was an important trip for Becky and me. One of Bec’s fondest memories as a kid was going out west to a dude ranch with her family. Mine was going across the country in a Winnebago in 1984 with mine. Our kids are 14 (Izzy) and 12 (Owen), so this was the summer to head out west before it’s too late. The two best things that … [Read more...]
Millennials Shun Boomers’ Stuff
I came across this article thanks to the folks over at WSJ Adviser. Apparently the kids don't want all of your stuff. A seismic shift of stuff is underway in homes all over America. Members of the generation that once embraced sex, drugs and rock-and-roll are trying to offload their place settings for 12, family photo albums and leather sectionals. Their offspring don’t want them. As baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, start cleaning out attics and basements, many are discovering that millennials, born between 1980 and 2000, are not so interested in the lifestyle trappings or … [Read more...]
Retirement Profile #2: “Expect Nothing; Want One Thing”
The NFL’s Baltimore Ravens may be the most underrated team in the NFL right now. Part of their success is due to senior leadership from quarterback Joe Flacco. Not to be forgotten though are linebacker Terrell Suggs and his new locker neighbor Steve Smith—yup, that Steve Smith. “How does an undersized, overly confrontational wideout survive 14 years in the NFL? He starts by following a plan that also describes his personal ethos,” writes SI’s Peter King. Well, number nine on that list is: Expect nothing; want one thing writes King: Ever since he’d watched Jerry Rice, when he was a kid in … [Read more...]
Retirement Profile: $110 Million Down the Drain
Former Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker spent/lost $110 million. What a shame. “Get the word ‘No’ in your vocabulary. You’re going to have to say no to a lot of people that are very important to you. Stick to your financial plan and don’t invest until you’re done with your career when you’re able to be hands-on,” said Walker. My first piece of financial advice to pro athletes (and you) is to spend only 3% of your portfolio. Low interest rates are forcing all retirees to take less and less each year. Walker’s new book Gone In An Instant will be released early next year. Don’t take it from … [Read more...]
Hedge Funds Go Hunting
Hedge funds are on the hunt for new clients as the WSJ's Wealth Adviser notes here: Hedge funds go mass-market as rich lose interest. For the wealthy and their advisers, “the sex appeal of hedge funds has worn off,” says Pennsylvania-based adviser Douglas Kobak. Because of that, Ben Steverman writes on Bloomberg’s Ventured & Gained blog, the funds have gone “hunting for new, less skeptical customers” by marketing mutual funds marked by “high fees, inconsistent performance and strategies that take a PhD to decipher.” … [Read more...]
Jack Bogle on Advisors
There’s a big difference between a broker/advisor and a registered investment advisor. An investment advisor must follow a strict fiduciary standard for his clients, whereas a broker/advisor follows a suitability standard (whatever that means). According to Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle, “A fiduciary to me is anybody that handles somebody else's money, if you're a broker, you've got to be very careful how you handle it," he says. If you’re considering working with an advisor, make sure he’s a registered investment advisor because there’s a huge difference between suitability and … [Read more...]
The Crushing Cost of Retirement Healthcare
Have you added the cost of healthcare to your retirement planning? Fidelity has estimated that a 65-year old couple retiring in 2014 will need $220,000 to cover their healthcare expenses through retirement. It's no surprise if you've paid attention to the fast increasing costs of medical care. Since 1997, costs for nursing homes have nearly doubled. And costs of hospital services are on their way to tripling. You need to start planning now to cover any extra medical expenses during retirement. You might even change your retirement timeline. Fidelity estimates that just prolonging … [Read more...]
Alternative Investments Beaten-Up
Pension funds and endowments made a dreadful mistake by loading up on market neutral alternative investments in 2009—the market crashed in 2008—a year too late. When I think of pensions and endowments I picture conference rooms and meetings and not a lot of independent thinking. At the end of the day pensions and endowments are managed by group thinking about yesterday’s problems. What sound and look good today wins—much like a beauty contest. That’s why it’s no surprise pensions and endowment loaded up on alt investments at exactly the wrong time and they've been beaten badly by the stock … [Read more...]
401(k) Nightmare: Part II
Your money growing tax-deferred is one of the best if not the best feature of a 401(k). When you choose to rollover to an IRA, your money is still growing tax-deferred. That’s it, say no more. That’s why it boggles my mind that retirees are tricked into putting their 401(k) money into variable annuities. The sales pitch from the broker is, one, you’ll get money sent to you every month and two, your investments will grow tax-free. Well they’re tax free anyway. “It’s scary. There are days when I go to sleep and I can’t stop thinking about it,” says Maria Lew, a retiree from AT&T. She was … [Read more...]
401(k) Nightmare: Part I
Twenty years ago, after graduating from Babson College with a finance/investments degree, I spent the summer backpacking through Europe. In the winter I worked as a ski instructor. And in the spring I got a job at Fidelity Investments. You can imagine how “proud” my parents were. I worked in Fidelity’s 401(k) business which managed plans for Fortune 500 sized companies. This was the golden age of 401(k)s. It was the savings vehicle of choice for large companies, baby boomers were investing like mad—nervous about not having enough money in retirement, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was … [Read more...]
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