We Serve Our Interests – Maybe Yours Too
The financial services industry product-pushers are at it again. Always be wary when "advice" is coming from someone who has a vested interest in you purchasing something.
15 Minutes Can Save You 15%
"All the rusted signs we ignore throughout our lives...choosing the shiny ones instead." "Hello, Springfield. Sorry to divert your attention from all the big noises and shiny things." Recognize the above? One of them? Both? The first is a lyric from Pearl Jam's "Thumbing My Way." The second is The Simpsons' Sideshow Bob interrupting the crowd at the air [...]
Burying Poor Performance
The mutual fund industry can go to great lengths to protect itself. Rarely has there been a group that circles the wagons any better. A favorite tactic is merging a poor performing fund into an existing fund. This time around the bodies will be buried simply by the passage of time. Read what happens and see the change [...]
The Broken Clock Theory
Somewhere Elaine Garzarelli is nodding her head. The woman who as a stock analyst at Shearson Lehman famously "predicted" the Black Monday market crash of 1987 is thinking, "Finally I'm not alone." Meredith Whitney's Garzarelli-esque moment was in 2007 when she famously "predicted" the troubles at Citi. Since then she's gone on to be horribly, [...]
Mutual Fund Industry Interests are Self-Serving
Years ago I overheard a co-worker on the telephone ordering tickets for an event. The box office clerk included a $3/ticket "convenience fee" when summarizing the transaction causing my co-worker to ask, "For whose convenience?" When the mutual fund industry rolls out a new product it makes one wonder whether it's necessary and useful or [...]