My Comments: So, just how much is $100 Trillion? Can you say "A lot!"? What’s equally mind boggling to me is that in 1967 ( or maybe it was 1966?) I built a house for myself and my wife. In those days I acted as my own general contractor. Back then, I could also dig …
Continue reading Powered by the U.S., Global Assets Forecast to Hit $100 Trillion
My Comments: I’ve now reduced retirement years to three types of years. They are “go-go”, “slow-go” and “no-go”. Planning for them before you reach retirement is a matter of attempting to get as many $ in the pot as possbile. After that, it’s a timing issue that is driven by health, the expected life style, …
Continue reading 3 Retirement Planning Essentials to Understand
My Comments: Yesterday I talked about investment risk, and how we, both clients and advisors alike, should understand it. Today, I’m reposting an article that describes, for me, a way to help clients achieve their perceived objectives, and keep the risk element under control. As before, risk is not to be avoided, but to be …
My Comments: First, let’s both understand we are talking about financial risk. Second, financial risk for me is likely to be defined differently from how you define it. Third, there is always an element of uncertainty about any future outcome, whether it's getting married, having children, accepting a new job, etc. Uncertainty implies a potentially …
My Comments: Last week I posted an article that suggested you be very cautious with your investments going forward. This article says “never mind”, all is well, keep going. Unfortunately, from my perspective, both are completely rational, plausible, and probably accurate. Which means that I have no earthly idea how this is going to play …
Continue reading There Isn’t Going To Be A Crash Anytime Soon
My Comments: Increasingly, I find myself working with older clients. After all, I’m an older advisor. From time to time there is a question of how fast you should decumulate your nest egg(s). (I’m not sure if “decumulate” is an approved word, but the intent is to convey the opposite of accumulate.) The rule of …
My Comments: How many of you have heard of SWIFT? Do you recall it was used in 2012 with Iran? I’ve commented earlier about the events in Ukraine and how they may effect us and our investments. Not to mention the bad feelings they generate in my head given my personal history. While the talking …
Continue reading The SWIFT way to get Putin to scale back his ambitions
My Comments: Do you lay awake at night, worrying about this? Me either. But global political dynamics will influence our lives, and the lives of those we love, in ways that cannot be predicted. I’ve been part of the world of financial planning and investments for almost four decades and over that span, the extent …
Continue reading Uncertainty, Not China, is Replacing US Power
My Comments: I guess it's human nature to abhor a vacuum. If there isn't a crisis, we invent one. We’ve had 5 years of mostly good times in the markets, since about the first of April in 2009. The second chart below kinda proves that. From a timing standpoint, we’ve had people predicting the end …
My Comments: OK, we’re a long way into Spring, but the dramatic push to finish taxes by April 15th is behind us. Time now to review and reflect before the heat of summer is here. These five ideas make sense to me. And yes, the approach I take with clients is a little different, ( …
Continue reading Spring Check-Up: 5 Investment Ideas For Your Portfolio
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