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The Top 10 Places Your Next Dollar Should Go

Date11 Aug 2014

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There is no shortage of receptacles clamoring for your money each day. No matter how much money you have or make, it could never keep up with all the seemingly urgent invitations to part with it. Separating true financial priorities from flash impulses is an increasing challenge, even when you’re trying to do the right...

When Competition Obscures Financial Goals

Date11 Aug 2014

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Years ago, a friend with an incredibly successful career as a sales representative shared a story about what she and her brother called their W-2 Derby. It’s exactly what it sounds like. At the end of each year, they’d pull out their W-2s and compare who had the higher income. There were even rules for...

What are the differences between a brokered CD and a bank CD?

Date11 Aug 2014

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Q: What are the differences between a brokered CD and a bank CD? A: A certificate of deposit is a type of bond that has a stated maturity and coupon payment. Most CDs offer a fixed interest rate, and maturities can range from one month to 30 years. CDs have insurance from the Federal Deposit...

An Eye to the Past Can Help Guide the Future

Date04 Aug 2014

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Over time, we’ve come to accept the concept that knowledge is power. In theory, when we have more knowledge, we can make better decisions. But for many of us, there can be a disconnect between knowing something and acting wisely on that knowledge. As you probably know from experience, it happens often with money. Last...

The 3 Keys to Surviving Major Life Transitions

Date04 Aug 2014

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You might think that the most important work a financial advisor can do is related to allocating a client’s investment portfolio, or perhaps helping secure a timely insurance policy or drafting the optimal estate plan. In fact, their most important work is done when clients are in the midst of navigating life’s major transitions. I...

Small Value Vs Midcap Value

Date04 Aug 2014

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My column from July 14 on the persistence of the small-value premium resulted in some interesting discussions on the subject. I thought it would be informative to share one of them. One reader pointed out that in the past 20 years, midcap value stocks had outperformed small-value stocks. For the period from July 1994 to June 2014,...

Active Funds Fail Again & Again

Date04 Aug 2014

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The evidence is overwhelming that most actively managed funds underperform their appropriate benchmarks, especially after taxes. However, not all actively managed funds underperform, just a large majority of them. Those who believe in active management as the winning strategy believe they can identify the small minority of actively managed funds that will outperform. The only-somewhat logical way...

Enough With The Hedge Fund Hype

Date04 Aug 2014

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The first half of this year again brought hedge funds little relief from their historically poor performance. Hedge funds began 2014 coming off their fifth-straight year of trailing U.S. stocks by some significant margins. And based on data through June 30, it doesn’t look like this year is shaping up to be much better. The latest data...

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