The market’s up. The market’s down. The market’s up. The market’s down. What the ____ is going on? I need to do something. Help!!!!! Is market volatility driving you crazy? Here are some tips to deal with it: 1) Turn off the news Financial media has no interest in helping you or being your friend. [...]
“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” -Sun Tzu The humorously sad side of being in the wealth management business is having listened through the years to the people who want to ignore solid advice and strategies in favor of blindly following the fakakta theories of [...]
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 became public law on Dec 18th. Included therein is the establishment of Qualified Charitable Distributions (“QCDs”) from IRAs as permanent. Previously the QCD provision expired annually and required extension via temporary legislation. What is a QCD? QCDs are direct transfers from an IRA to a qualified charity totaling up [...]
The parable introduces us to a man who refuses to see anything as positive or negative. Why? Because he believes the consequences of good fortune and misfortune are unknowable. Yet this simple truth does not stop us from latching on to whatever guesswork about the future parades as thoughtful insight. Consider some of the things [...]
While the academics and money managers argue over the pros and cons of active vs. passive strategies investors often ignore the noise and focus solely on returns. “Did I beat the S&P 500? Good.” That’s all some people seem to care about. What a shame. Prudent investing requires a full and complete understanding of what [...]
In an oft-paraphrased 1789 letter to Richard Price Thomas Jefferson wrote that a well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. The next time we as a society collectively wonder about the political landscape and direction of our country we need look no further than ourselves and the things we deem important. Just what are the [...]
A few weeks ago Valeant became a household name. Their business model of acquiring drugs and raising prices as a means of generating, um, “organic” revenue growth came under scrutiny. The stock tanked. Valeant has been a darling of the investment community. You probably own it via a mutual fund in your 401(k). But what [...]
Language is powerful. Oftentimes it gets lost in subtlety. During your next conversation listen for whether the person says, “I think” or “I feel.” It's quite telling. Feelings are great. The beauty of humanity is we experience emotion. Thoughts are great too. The beauty of humanity is we are capable of thought without limited capacity [...]
No, we don’t mean this Myra or this Myra. We mean this myRA courtesy of our friends at Treasury. We, um, “sat down with myRA” to get to know her. Let’s see what she’s all about: Apollo: When were you born? myRA: President Obama mentioned me in his 2014 State of the Union address. Apollo: [...]
In an attempt to close a ‘loophole’ they claim is exploited by ‘evil one-percenters’ Congress has done away with a very useful planning strategy – File and Suspend. File and Suspend allows spouse #1 to file for and immediately suspend receipt of benefits until a future date up to age 70. This allows spouse #2 [...]