What’s on our mind? You can read about it in our blog. Whether it’s ideas from the industry or emerging trends, you can read about it here. And once in a while, we may throw in a commentary that is not market related. So keep checking in. We’re glad to have you reading along.
Friday, January 18, 2019
I have often heard my colleague, Rey Descalso, use the analogy that investing is similar to driving a car. On highways, with minimal traffic, we go the full speed limit. Maybe slightly faster, depending on the type of drivers we are....
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Wednesday, January 16, 2019
I'll never forget the first trade I made in my personal brokerage account. I was sitting in my apartment in Los Angeles, California, at 6:30am when the opening bell rang in New York City. I had a plan in place and my order queued up...
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Friday, January 11, 2019
Holiday festivities give way to New Year's resolutions. "New Year, New Me!" Is parroted all over social media as we declare our best intentions and goals for 2019. It's a tale as old as time. We write down our goals, create lists of...
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Monday, December 17, 2018
Disclaimer: This is a made up story, a parable. It never happened and probably never will. Any resemblance to actual humans is coincidental and besides the point. What follows is not a description of a specific security nor is it the...
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Friday, November 30, 2018
My uncle Steve died unexpectedly and we had his funeral service the Sunday before Thanksgiving. He was a gentle giant of a man and only 54 years young. His passing was deeply painful to my family and it jarred me out of the hypnotic...
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It has been said that the love of money is the root of all evil. Can I be so bold as to add a corollary to that axiomatic statement? The love of a stock is the fruit of all hubris. Let me explain. Sears has filed for bankruptcy. The...
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I recently upgraded to the most recent operating system and I’m just waiting for the inevitable slowdown. Turns out Apple purposely slows your phone down if it gets too old. They say it’s to save you from ruining your phone...
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I know what you’re thinking, dear reader: “Oh great! Another boring, vanilla blog on asset allocation. Only now, my advisor is so bullish he things we should use leverage (investing with borrowed money).” Well,...
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The Annals of Internal Medicine published a study that showed that approximately over 30% of prescriptions go unfilled. If you drill down a bit more you find that about 80% of bronchitis and 74% of skin irritation prescriptions go...
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There are over 12,000 wild wolves roaming North America. There are over 89 million dogs. So the question is, why are there so many dogs, and so few wolves? I ask this question, because I'm wondering who domesticated who? Did we...
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Sorry for the delay in bringing you the much anticipated second installment of this blog post. You can catch up with where our hero left off here by clicking here. I discovered the evils of peer pressure in fifth grade. It led good...
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My drive into work consists of satellite radio and podcasts. I don't listen to rock 'n' roll to get pumped up for the workday that lies ahead. Instead, I flip back and forth between CNBC, Bloomberg and investment related podcasts....
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Love is a funny thing. Statues and sonnets are dedicated to this most primal of human emotions. The infatuation, the depth, the betrayal and the heartbreak are the stuff of legends. But this, dear reader, is a financial blog, not an...
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On any given day approximately 8 million people hop aboard an airplane to a predetermined destination. There're two types of passengers. Those that enjoy the excitement of the adventure. Then there's the unfortunate bunch that must do...
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Behind the scenes our industry, the SEC, FINRA and the Department of Labor are parsing what it means to be a fiduciary. It’s a worthwhile conversation. For me, the debate doesn't matter. As an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®...
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A few days ago, I was sick. Achy, stuffy with a painful sore throat. It was gray and raining outside and had been for a few days. It was a tropical depression in more ways than one. Being a domesticated snowflake I made an appointment...
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Let's say you are looking for advice on what to eat. You have two friends that are good friends. You know them well and trust their ethics and intelligence. In separate conversations you tell them your health goals, frustrations, and...
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Americans love the open road and the freedom that cars provide. Cars are an emotional possession that reflect what we value and how we see ourselves. But having a car is a necessary evil when you look at the financials. You must get to...
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During World War II, Winston Churchill gave many rousing speeches to the English people as they were fighting in the air, land and sea. If you ever have the chance to watch Gary Oldman's portrayal of the Bulldog, I highly recommend it....
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Business owners inspire me. I’m lucky to have several successful, smart business owners as clients. When we meet to review their financial plan inevitably I find myself learning something new about how to be a better business...
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the other day (March 22nd) down 700 points. Checking through my email, I saw that Julia had sent me an email. Paraphrasing, she said, "I'm freaking out. Should I be scared, or should I stop...
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Perhaps you've heard that President Donald Trump is proposing aluminum and steel tariffs on all foreign imports to the United States of America. There's a couple things that I'd like to talk about when it comes to this policy. On my...
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It was the best of times it was the worst of times… Don’t worry this blog won’t be as long as the classic from which it borrows nothing but a title and opening line. I just wanted to take your temperature, so to...
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This morning I dropped my wife's car off at the auto body shop. Then I walked over to the Starbucks next door. As I sipped a venti coffee, I listened to an interview with George Mason University economics professor Bryan Caplan. He's...
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In Part 1, we learned about the heroic efforts of the Federal Reserve to keep inflation manageable and unemployment low. They don't do this with the Force or Jedi mind tricks, per se. Instead they lower rates to ignite the economy and...
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I started my career in the financial world in 2005 at what was then AG Edwards. Naive and idealistic, I devoured the standard text to pass my Series 7 securities licensing. Because I'm a nerd, many of the broad concepts were familiar...
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Poet, philosopher and pugilist Mike Tyson once opined, "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth." After a steep decline of over 8% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from January 29 to February 5, many investors feel...
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We all have our preconceived opinions not based on reason or actual experience. It's called a prejudice. That's a bad word in today's culture and I'm accusing you of being prejudiced. Once you stop clutching your Victorian pearls in...
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British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stood outside of 10 Downing Street in London and declared to those gathered,"I have returned from Germany with peace for our time." A year later, Hitler's Germany invaded Poland. The rest is...
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In life we often have to choose between efficient and effective. Efficient is quicker and easier. Effective gets the job done, albeit with varying convenience. Let me give you an example. When you order clothes from Amazon you take a...
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After circling the sun, human nature likes to look back at the last 365 days and look forward to the next. It's very healthy to take stock of the last year and solidify your plans going forward. However, there's also a propensity. We...
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I came across this study by Cornell economists Maria Fitzpatrick and Timothy Moore and want to share it with you, dear reader. The gist is that US Census figures reveal a clear correlation between premature death and premature...
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As I write this, everyone around me has thrown off the shackles of self-restraint and entered full-on holiday feast mode. And why not? It's a festive time of year where every excuse is given to eat, drink and be merry. Besides, on New...
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Have you ever noticed how fads come and go? Hula hoops were a thing once. Pet rocks, lava lamps and beanie babies, too. I can remember thinking I was to coolest guy ever rocking my mullet and parachute pants. And some fads even come...
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When was the last time you ordered a brand-new dish at your favorite restaurant? I ask because I've noticed that there is a spectrum from adventurous to fearful when it comes to the people I often dine with. I'm the adventurous type...
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As a 44-year old man, I'm dealing with male pattern baldness and acne. That doesn't seem fair. It should be one or the other. Acne breakouts in my teens makes sense. Thinning hair and an expanding waistline in my forties is to be...
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There are phrases and terms that don’t make sense together. Jumbo Shrimp. Freezer Burn. Army Intelligence. You get the idea. When it comes to your investments one oxymoron stands out: Standard Deviation. Before we talk about...
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Today is Halloween as I put these thoughts to paper. Tonight, I’ll take my wife and daughter around the neighborhood to scare the candy out of the neighbors. My costume will be easy; I am FrankenPlanner. That’s right,...
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Warren Buffet has been credited with the following quote: “Rule Number 1: Never Lose Money. Rule Number 2: Never Forget Rule Number 1.” If only investing were that simple. Even Warren Buffett, in the short term, experiences...
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There are three goals when it comes to retirement planning: longevity, lifestyle and legacy. Longevity is the goal of running out of life before you run out of money (and not the other way around). It is the primary, non-negotiable...
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We all have favorites. There’s a familiarity and dependability when you order your favorite food at your favorite restaurant while sitting at your favorite restaurant. In fact, now that I have a three-year-old, we rarely venture...
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Imagine going to a Primary Care Physician for the first time. You discover that recently she’s changed her practice. Instead of Dr. Feelgood, MD the name has changed to Big Pharma Doctors, Inc. Her practice is no longer...
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Let’s say you want to climb a mountain. What’s your goal? “To get to the top, of course,” your reply. Wrong! The goal is to get to the summit and safely get back down. When I was in college a guy named Jason...
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The Four Factors℠ are: Growth/Yield, Liquidity, Fees and Volatility. Every investment option can be analyzed for each of The Four Factors℠. An example would be investing in raw land. There’s no yield, but there is growth...
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What’s The Four FactorsSM? When I speak with clients, I like to remind them that every investment has positive and negative attributes, depending on your goal. Over the years, I developed The Four FactorsSM. These four factors...
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Winston Churchill once said, “Never, never, never give up.” I think that’s good advice for women at each stage of divorce. You see, it’s easy to tire and take your eye off the prize. But keep going. Dot every...
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I’d like you to consider taking a 7-day financial news fast challenge. That’s right. Seven days with no financial news, televised or online. Weather and traffic updates are okay, but other than that try 7 days. Here’s...
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There is a debate whether you should contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA or 401k (if your company even has a Roth 401k option). Choose Ye This Day This is an important decision, now more than ever. A growing number of work...
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Forty-four percent of American women are the primary breadwinner in their house.1 Yet only 10% of women feel very confident in their ability to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle.2 Although more women are providing for their...
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In times of transition and stress, we look for coping mechanisms. We need something to gives us a shot of dopamine to calm our frazzled nerves. What’s your drug of choice? Consumption Mine is Amazon Prime. When I’ve got a...
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My family once spent the day with a guide who took us to swim with dolphins in the Florida Keys. This wasn’t a tourist trap fish tank where some poor captured mammal entertains visitors from Hoboken. We were out in the wild,...
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Do you remember that song, “That’s Just the Way it Is?” I’m listening to it now as I write this. I was in 6th grade when it came out. It topped the charts and made me wish I never quit piano lessons in 4th grade...
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First, a confession. I don’t like budgets, I don’t like tracking my spending. Just like most normal people. But if you are in the midst of the loss of a spouse due to death setting up your new budget is even more complex....
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Consider a bucket plan to go with your bucket list. The baby boomers have re-defined everything they’ve touched, from music to marriage to parenting and, more lately, to what “old” means—60 is the new 50! Longer...
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The CPI has shown low inflation since '09. Are your prices rising faster than the average? Read the rest of the story.
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