Try to do at least three things from this year-end financial checklist. Doing so will tidy up your 2015 finances and start your 2016 on the right financial foot. 1. Don’t leave money on the table. If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) for health care expenses or dependent care, and you haven’t used […]
The Obama Administration proposed this summer to impose a fiduciary duty on financial advisors that provide retirement advice. This duty includes the duties of due care, loyalty, and utmost good faith when advising a client. This proposal puts investors’ retirement interests first rather than the profit interest of the advisor selling a financial product that may […]
You just received your third quarter investment statement showing your portfolio’s performance. You have a loss for the quarter or year to date. Or perhaps you review your investment accounts online and some of them are showing a loss. And you think, the son of a gun financial planner didn’t say I’d have a loss….. […]
The conventional wisdom is that many young professionals don’t need permanent life insurance. The reasons include the high cost compared to term life insurance and the temporary need for life insurance during the time they are paying down the mortgage and saving for college educations. But permanent life insurance may be appropriate as part of […]
You may be wondering what to do in a stock market sell-off (a “correction”). Domestic and international stocks have been down sharply since last Monday, August 17th. As of the market close on Tuesday, August 25th, the S&P 500, which tracks 500 of the largest US companies, was down 11.1% in six trading days, while […]
I was asked the other day the financial moves I wish I had done in my 20s and 30s to get ready for retirement. I thought wow, what a great question! After some soul searching I arrived at three things I wish I had done better and three things I think I did right when […]
You have decided to retire but need to manage your retirement portfolio with an eye toward an asset withdraw strategy. You have been busily contributing to your retirement plan and savings using an asset allocation that meets your objectives. But you now need a withdraw strategy that doesn’t upset your portfolio’s allocation and expose you to an […]
Are you thinking of leaving your job soon but unsure whether you are retirement ready? Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to a financially secure retirement. But before the financial tips, the most important part of retirement is how you spend your time now that it is not structured as when you were […]
What is the best way to match asset classes in your taxable and tax-deferred investment accounts? For example, should you put your actively managed stock funds in your taxable brokerage account or in your Roth IRA? Follow these handy rules to avoid adversely altering your portfolio’s overall risk and return profile as well as unnecessarily […]
On May 18, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that companies offering 401k plans have a duty to select low-cost investment funds for the plan and to monitor the investments continuously and remove imprudent ones. This ruling is a huge win for 401k plan participants. I expect that within the next several months, employers offering retirement […]
