I must say I was somewhat surprised by the reaction from the advisory community in regard to my recent articles about index and guaranteed annuities. I received some expected feedback from those who strongly disagreed with my views, while also getting many positive comments from fiduciary advisors who see the same factual logic I illustrated in these past articles relative …
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” -Winston Churchill.
“If it doesn’t make sense, it’s usually not true.” ― Judge Judy Sheindlin I hear all the time from diehard investors and salesmen of annuity products that “the stock market is nothing more than rolling the dice at Vegas!” To which I always respond, “Really? I didn’t realize we had that many compulsive gamblers in the world.” My reply tends …
In my last article, What I Wish Every Prospect Had Considered Before Asking ‘Can I Retire’?, I discussed three broad points that most investors need to ask relative to the common retirement question all advisors get from time to time. In this follow-up article, I want to review the major retirement planning process details most investors don’t think about… http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2013/10/22/the-retirement-planning-process-answers-the-questi
As an experienced wealth manager and retirement planning advisor, I find it very challenging when a prospective client somehow thinks I can answer their “Can I retire?” question in an initial one- or two-hour meeting. I’m sure most fiduciary advisors have been asked the same question, which, as you know, entails a far deeper discussion, mostly driven by actions taken …
If you didn’t get a chance to read my first article on this subject, Your Clients and Their Children: The Problems with Joint Bank Accounts, it may be helpful to review it as a means of providing context for this article. As noted in that first posting, if a client couple wishes to make their bank accounts into joint accounts …
Do you get the recurring question from clients that I do, from time to time, about bank accounts? I’m referring to the issue where an elderly mother or father wants to add their child’s name to one or more of their bank accounts. In simple terms, the logic makes sense, as most parents want to assure that their bills, mortgages, …
Now that I’ve finally come up for air after a daunting 2012 tax season, which kept me away from my writing my monthly column in April, I want to discuss whether you’ve ever explained or shown your clients their non-market related return on investment. The simplified method of looking at a monthly statement to assess whether their money has increased …
My annual “wish list” usually coincides with the coming of Christmas, but this wish list is a little different, and one that I believe to be of dire importance for all Americans. So what do I (and my clients) wish for from our next president (and those elected to Congress) come November? 1. Simplicity We need a president that will …
Last Sunday I asked my 91-year-old mother – who still drives her own car – to have lunch with me and my wife after church. As always, I paid for the meal, but not without my mother arguing that she can pay for her own lunch. Nonetheless, I always ignore her and pay anyway. Afterwards, my wife wanted to stop …
