The Case for Alternative Investments – Part IX

You are perhaps glad I’m now close to the end of this conversation about Alternative Investments. I know I am. This one is intended as a summary, based on a recent letter to my clients. It’s a little long but I encourage you to get to the end. Most of us have been struggling with …

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Reducing Retirement Planning Stress

I want you to think about how age can change your pre-conceived notions about retirement. The focus of this post is suggest a couple of ways to minimize the stress associated with money and retirement. Some of you have heard me talk many times about the three stages of life. The first is when we …

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The Case for Alternative Investments – Part VIII

Over these past few weeks, I’ve been slowly making my case for you to invest some of your money in alternative investments. You’ve had to read and read and read and maybe you’re on track to better understand my thinking. Here is a visual presentation I found recently that re-inforces what I’ve been saying. It …

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Early Florida

Recently, a friend sent me a PowerPoint slide show with about four dozen photographs of early Florida life. I've put them in a web presentation and share them with you here. Click the following link. Early Florida...

The Case for Alternative Investments – Part VII

In the first six parts of this series, I’ve given you some simple definitions that apply when the conversation turns to “alternative investments”. I’ve also given you some examples that you might employ as you become more comfortable with this approach. I’m now going to summarize my position. Basically, the market downturn on 2008 scared …

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Capital Market Insights – July 18, 2011

Here’s your Weekly Insights update from Curian’s Asset Management Group. This informative capital market update is designed to help you stay informed about important developments from the past week, as well as provide thoughtful commentary on how these events might… CONTINUE…

AARP Social Security Benefits Calculator

This calculator can help estimate your Social Security benefits and show you when is the best time to claim Social Security. CLICK HERE...

Murphy’s Laws, Part III

MURPHY'S LAW:   If anything can go wrong, it will. MURPHY’S CORROLARY #1:   Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. MURPHY’S CORROLARY #2: It is impossible to make anything foolproof   because fools are so ingenious. QUANTISIZED REVISION OF MURHPH’S LAW: Everything goes wrong all at once. O'TOOLE’S COMMENTARY: Murphy was an optimist.

The Case for Alternative Investments – Part VI

When I started this series, I began with some definitions to help the reader understand some of the jargon inherent to the discussion. One word I forgot to define is “correlation”. In financial terms, it refers to the extent to which the value of different asset classes (bonds, stocks, gold, etc.) move in relation to …

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Who will suffer if there’s no debt-ceiling deal?

Here's who would feel the pain most abruptly: Social Security recipients. The government is due to deliver $23 billion in Social Security payments on August 3, according to forecasting firm IHS Global Insight. If the government is forced to cut 40 percent of its spending, these Social Security checks may not arrive. The suddenness with …

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