I got a call from a reporter this week asking if I thought there were any loopholes in the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) supposed expansion of the “investment advice fiduciary” definition. I’ve written on this topic before, but it’s worth looking at from multiple angles. This is quite possibly the most important story of […]
Read Article2017 Qualified & Pension Plan Q&A
Attention business owners: your friendly neighborhood Certified Financial Planner™ professionals (CFP® professionals) in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Southern California want to remind you that 2017 is right around the corner. Here’s a peek at how deduction limits for Qualified Plans have either changed or remained constant for 2017. What are the elective deferral limits for […]
Read ArticleSaving Taxes the Smart Way
Business owners might have a 401(k) and think they are doing the best they can to save on taxes today and save for retirement tomorrow. What they don’t know is that they can, depending on age, more than triple the amount of tax deferred savings and reduce their taxes at the same time. How to […]
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Back in the 1980s, it seemed only Fortune 500 executives received stock options. Boy, have things changed! Today, employees of many firms, large and small, have received stock option grants. When it’s over, it’s over In most cases, employees have up to 10 years to “exercise” their options and thereby capture the economic […]
Read ArticleInvestor Behavior Explained in 16 Hours
“Trump Post-Election Investment Strategy” or “Investor Behavior Explained in 16 Hours” Either of these titles are appropriate in consideration of President-Elect Donald Trump’s historic election win on Tuesday. This 16-hour period serves as perfect petri dish to explore the viral contagion that invades people’s emotions in irrational ways such that they can lead to false […]
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The first thing people generally think about when San Diego comes up is weather, since “America’s Finest City” allegedly has the best weather in the country. That may be true, but unless you work as a lifeguard, gardener or other outdoor-based job, you’re usually looking at the sunshine from indoors, and don’t get much of […]
Read ArticleDewey Beats Truman!
Post by Christopher Van Slyke In the biggest election upset since 1948, Donald Trump has won the presidency. You are advised to prepare for a possible wild ride in the investment markets. It is helpful to remember that these potential market gyrations are almost always bad times to trade, and particularly to sell. We have months […]
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I recently got a call from a reporter from the financial media asking my opinion on a certain ETF. To her surprise, my comments were much different than she’d heard from other advisors who were just regurgitating the interesting regional story behind the ETF. Basically, a sales pitch. The ETF in question, the Nashville Area […]
Read ArticleThe Final Countdown
We always caution against watching stocks on a daily basis, because it’s too easy to get caught up in the daily volatility that inevitably will occur. If we go back to last summer’s late August swoon, it might have been tempting to bail when shares were near their bottom and financial reports bordered on hysteria. […]
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Most people still feel having a local bank is a necessity, though many often express frustration to me about how the salespeople seem to jump them like sharks as soon as they walk in. The recent news of Wells Fargo employees being guilty of widespread illegal sales practices has naturally put many bank clients on […]
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