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 [...]
New data suggests the cost of LTC remains on the rise. Below are the median averages and their respective growth rates. Home Health Aide $20/hr representing a 1.27% increase from prior year 1.03% annualized growth over prior 5 years Adult Day Care $69/day representing a 5.94% increase from prior year 2.79% annualized growth over prior [...]
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.
Ah, the lies we live by. Whether self-told or otherwise we blind ourselves from the truth. Better to avoid reality than accept and do something about it. It’s the most American of behaviors. When will we learn we are often our own worst enemy? Recently the folks at Northwestern Mutual explored attitudes towards finances and [...]
We (think we) know how to grow wealth...but do we know how to preserve it? As counterintuitive as it may seem the way to preserve wealth isn’t to eliminate risk but to (smartly) take some. Consider that successful wealth preservation requires a strategy that: 1) preserves purchasing power (i.e. inflation-adjusted value) 2) sustains wealth over [...]
You’re about to reach age 70 ½. You’re facing Required Minimum Distributions from your IRAs. Want to avoid them? Still working? Here’s how: Although RMDs are required for IRAs they are NOT required for Qualified Retirement Plans (“QRPs”) such as a 401(k). As such rolling IRA balances into an employer’s QRP will allow deferral of [...]
According to a recent survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards 86% Americans say they’re stressed about their finances. What do they do about it? Nothing...at least in a meaningful or productive sense. 27% say that having a financial plan is the best way to reduce stress 22% say the answer is having [...]
The fiduciary standard is an ongoing debate in financial services. Who is a fiduciary, what is a fiduciary obligation, is it right for everyone and what happens if it’s cost prohibitive? To understand the debate requires a bit of context. Historically financial services were delivered piecemeal. Need to get your tax return filed? Call a [...]
A recent study by Legg Mason about investor attitudes, concerns and choices yielded this little nugget: the average investor spends about 90 mins/day thinking or worrying about money while the top 10% spend 2-3 hours per day. That means having a financial plan in place and a planner creating/monitoring/adjusting it could save the average person [...]