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When Financial Talk Turns Personal

Date15 Feb 2016

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Recently, my family needed a new vehicle. I’ve always wanted a truck, and I knew we would get tons of use out of it. Could I have found a cheaper vehicle? Sure. But I knew we could afford the truck, so after lots of careful thought, we decided to buy it. Anytime I make a...

Terrible Advice in Tough Times

Date08 Feb 2016

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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 big brokerage firms that support them with huge advertising budgets. They seem indifferent to...

During Market Turmoil, Just Listen to Your Financial Plan

Date08 Feb 2016

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Every year, right around this time, all the big brokerage firms, economists and banks come out with projections of what’s supposed to happen next in the financial world. This year is no exception. Especially prominent in the news has been the Royal Bank of Scotland warning, in no uncertain terms, that people should “sell everything”...

Active Underperforms In EM, Too

Date08 Feb 2016

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A recent article in The Wall Street Journal proposed that investors consider five factors before investing in emerging markets. One of these five factors was the flexibility of active funds. The author, Michael Pollock, writes: “Managers of active funds can make distinctions among that huge range of stocks that an index-tracking fund doesn’t make.” The...

Why The Stock Market Is Volatile, Why Volatility Hurts, And What To Do About It

Date08 Feb 2016

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Unless you made a resolution not to read, listen to or watch the news in 2016, you’ve likely noticed that “the market” is off to a stumbling start. Indeed, one glance at the headlines, at least the ones that don’t involve the presidential election, quickly reveals that the market is having one of its worst...

The Simple DIY Portfolio That Has Beaten The Pros

Date08 Feb 2016

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The financial industry would prefer you to believe that you can’t be a successful investor without it. That’s good for business but it’s not exactly true. In fact, it may be truer to suggest that a layperson with a reasonable grasp of middle school math—combined with the rarer traits of discipline, grit and humility—is capable...

Clarify what diversification really means, and why it matters

Date08 Feb 2016

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When you sit down with a client for the very first time, what happens when you start talking about diversification? I’m betting you talk about picking a mix of investments, like stocks and bonds, maybe even some cash or real estate. You probably even discuss risk (another fun word). But I’m betting that most of...

10 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About Life Insurance

Date08 Feb 2016

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Life insurance is one of the pillars of personal finance, deserving of consideration by every household. I’d even go so far as to say it’s vital for most. Yet, despite its nearly universal applicability, there remains a great deal of confusion, and even skepticism, regarding life insurance. Perhaps this is due to life insurance’s complexity,...

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