While Greece dominates the headlines it’s more commentary on sentiment than material threat to the financial system. Why? – 80% of Greece’s debts are owned by the European Central bank and the International Monetary Fund. When you’re a quasi-governmental organization you can absorb lots of body blows. Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory dealing with its [...]
Hey IRS, you want a fight? Bring it on! A recent IRS decision limits individuals to one IRA rollover a year in hopes of avoiding exploitation of a loophole allowing the use of retirement accounts as short-term, tax-free loans The strategy was simple. Withdraw money from an IRA and use it to cover short-term cash [...]
Much has been (and will continue to be) made over who or what is a fiduciary and why it matters. Similarly how an advisor is compensated remains contentious. Need proof? Consider the lengths some financial 'professionals' will go through to obfuscate how they make their money.
‘It’s so easy anyone can do it.’ How many times have we heard that? From having 6-pack abs to flipping real estate all we have to do is watch an infomercial or two to realize all that we want in life is right at our fingertips. Yet if it’s so simple why are so many [...]
NFL teams pour lots of time and energy into proverbially kicking the tires of potential draft picks. They do their research and make their decisions. In the end it seems like a crap shoot. Many of the high profile names and 1st round draft choices offer little on-field production while those flying beneath the radar [...]
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in the case of Tibble v. Edition International. The decision will surely have unintended consequences. A bit of background: Current and former employees sued Edison (a California-based utility) claiming breach of fiduciary responsibility. The claim? Retail mutual funds in the 401(k) charged higher fees than identical Institutional funds available [...]
This article from the folks at Bloomberg is excellent reading. It speaks volumes about the herd mentality, the fear of missing out, etc.
If performance is any kind of reliable measure the typical mutual fund investor just might warrant a meet and greet with Dr. Kevorkian. It’s a bit extreme but sure gets the point across. Since we’re bombarded with messages about ‘beating the market’ let’s look at how the typical investor faired in 2014. According to the [...]
Further evidence of how emotions are self-defeating when it comes to making decisions.
At the start of the evening news the pretty face in the tight clothing (because, after all, it's news and not entertainment - ha!) tells you it’s going to rain tomorrow. You’ll probably bring an umbrella. Later in the program when the full forecast is provided you hear it’ll be nothing more than short-lived drizzle. [...]