Does currency risk add value in the fixed income markets?
Q: Does currency risk add value in the fixed income markets? A: As interest rates on high quality bonds have remained relatively low, some investors continue to search for ways to achieve higher returns in the fixed income markets. One...
Secure Your Future With Money You Didn’t Even Know You Were Spending
Over the last five years, I’ve spent a lot of time traveling the world to talk to people about money. At least one common theme comes up again and again: anxiety. People are worried about the future and want to...
Fiduciary Rule: The Real Agenda
There’s a powerful agenda behind the opposition to the rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) requiring that advisors to retirement plans be fiduciaries: The securities industry wants to preserve its ability to give conflicted advice. There’s a...
Riding the Elephant: Mastering Decision-Making In Money And Life
The most compelling findings regarding financial decision-making are found not in spreadsheets, but in science. A blend of psychology, biology and economics, much of the research on this topic has been around for years. Its application in mainstream personal finance,...
Your Spending Choices Often Reflect Your Values
I have a crazy idea I want to run by you. Imagine that a cultural anthropologist finds one of your credit card statements in 100 years. What would your spending suggest you value the most? Based on your spending, what...
Quick Take on Fixed Income (August, 2015)
Q: What Is the Federal Reserve System? A: The Federal Reserve is the central bank for the United States. It is composed of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks located around the country as well as the Board of Governors, the...
Fiduciary Rule Opponents Are Motivated By Self-Interest
The securities industry is all atwitter at the prospect of having to put the interests of retirement plan participants above its own. It’s marshaling its massive resources to fight a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that...
What Mountain Climbing Can Teach You About Business
When we think of mountain climbing, we tend to think of Mount Everest and big groups of people climbing in long lines. Armies of Sherpas create base camps and ferry supplies and gear up and down the mountain. Miles of...
Budgeting Knows No Boundaries: A Guide for the Wealthy
“You don’t really do this stuff—do you?” The question came from a major network anchor after the camera stopped rolling. The topic was budgeting. He certainly isn’t obtuse, and he wasn’t being patronizing or condescending. It was a legitimate question...
The Wrong Place and Time to Have a Money Conversation
A few weeks ago, I got home late after a long trip. I’d been traveling a lot recently and didn’t sleep well that night. The next morning, I woke up and felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Emotionally,...
