How to Lose at Investing: Follow Your Gut
Financial Planning magazine reported that its “perceived risk-tolerance level” barometer had dropped 7 points from January to 27.9 in February — the lowest level since its inception. This barometer seeks to measure clients’ (or self-directed investors’) appetite for risk. In looking at the readings over the last 12 months, it’s very easy to understand why […]
Read ArticleWhy Should I Care About Sectors?
The term “sectors” is often thrown around, but what exactly does it mean and why should you care? In short, the economy and financial markets can be broken down into segments called sectors, which are simply large groupings of industries in similar businesses. Each sector can be further broken down into industry groups. For example, […]
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According to Thomson Reuters Lipper, investors pulled over $60 billion from mutual funds in January, the worst month of outflows we’ve seen in years. Mutual fund outflows are one way to get an idea of what retail investors are doing. Whether they are self-directing or calling up their advisors and demanding their plan be thrown […]
Read ArticleAre You a Grocery Store Trader?
Have you ever gone into the grocery store on a whim when you had some extra time? No list in hand, just time to spend in the store. You wander aisle by aisle, picking up a few things that catch your eye. You grab a few staples. Maybe a few treats you haven’t had in […]
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On February 24th, Presidents, PhDs, CEOs, CIOs, and Executives from industry power-houses like BlackRock, JP Morgan, Cambridge, Vanguard, and Merrill Lynch packed into the Belo Mansion in Dallas, TX for the Annual Private Wealth Texas Forum hosted by the Markets Group. Reuters reported that over 250 leading family offices, RIAs, and Private Bank executives would […]
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I recently saw a list of the Top 40 advisors under 40 years old published in the brokerage magazine On Wall Street. Three firms produced 34 of those included on the list: Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Care to take a guess on what criteria they were ranked? On “production,” which is a friendlier […]
Read ArticleRate of Return – Not A Plan
Goals without a plan are really just hopes! Understanding what a plan is, and what a plan is not, can be quite the process. I’ll tackle one aspect of this today by sharing a phrase I typically hear when the topic of investing comes up in social gatherings. “With the amount of money I’ve saved, […]
Read ArticleAgainst The Wind
Recession or no recession Recently, the focus for investors has been all over the map: Oil prices Corporate earnings The global economy China’s economy China’s currency (the yuan) Anxieties about banks (especially in Europe) The Federal Reserve’s next move Global central banks that may be running out of ammunition to counter economic weakness Emerging market […]
Read ArticleRun Your Domestic Staff like Your Business
Often times when clients talk asset protection with their CFP® professional, they want to discuss how to avoid poor investment choices and how to save their profits from taxation to create a strong foundation of assets that protect them and their lifestyle. But asset protection is more than that; it’s making strong, smart decisions that […]
Read ArticleWealth Transfer: Inheriting Retirement Accounts
If you inherit a big Individual Retirement Account, you have to be a little bit more careful about what you do with the money than with non-retirement money. That is because the money you take out is taxable and it is possible that this extra money, which is added right on top of your existing […]
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