A Bold Way to Pick ‘Winners’
It’s a mystery to me why so many investors pay brokers to pick “winning” mutual funds. But they do, and it turns out that they aren’t alone in this often fruitless quest. Pension funds pay obscene fees to “consultants” who...
It’s Still Open Season on Retirement Plan Participants
Don’t get me wrong. I believe the new fiduciary rule recently announced by the Department of Labor (DOL) will be a net plus for retirement plan participants. The rule expands the definition of “fiduciary investment advice” and requires all financial...
Don’t Be a ‘Low-Information’ Investor
There’s a lot of talk in the media about “low-information” voters. Ted Cruz may be responsible for coining the term. He referred to supporters of Donald Trump as those “who have relatively low information, who are not that engaged and...
You’re No Match for Wall Street
Wall Street has an alarming number of shady practices geared to transfer your money to itself. Main Street investors are outgunned and ill-equipped to deal with its chicanery. Conflicts of interest abound There’s a reason Wall Street doesn’t want to...
A Plan to Stop the Pension Plan Rip-Off
It’s small consolation that your broker is only harming one client at a time by claiming the ability to “beat the market.” Recommending actively managed funds, private equity, individual stocks and alternative investments is the tried-and-true Wall Street way of...
The Biggest Market Myth
Particularly in times of extreme volatility, pundits come out of the woodwork to “explain” to the rest of us the reasons underlying the rise or fall of the stock market. For example, how many times have you seen articles attributing...
Terrible Advice in Tough Times
It’s sad that terrible advice is so freely dispensed in tough times. Investors are at their most vulnerable, reeling from the market selloff. Many in the financial media see this as an opportunity to boost ratings and generate revenue for...
The Smartest Path For Investors in 2016
2016 Roadmap For Dealing with Stockbrokers Read the rest of the article at The Huffington Post.
‘The Big Short’: A Big Wake-Up Call
I agree with the glowing reviews of The Big Short. The film does a wonderful job of exposing the mendacity of the financial industry and the role it played in almost causing a worldwide economic collapse. Its depiction of Wall...
What Warren Buffett Isn’t Doing
I don’t know Warren Buffett. I didn’t interview him for this article. But I’m pretty sure I know what he isn’t doing to cope with the worst first four trading days in history for the S&P 500 index to begin...
