Why Mutual Funds Can’t Protect Against a Stock Market Crash

My Comments: At last! Someone else who thinks like me with but with better writing skills! This explanation is right on target. For comfirmation of these thoughts, click on the word "risk" just to the left and spend a few minutes watching the presentation. By Roccy DeFrancesco on October 21, 2013 I recently saw that …

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Time to Retire the Idea of Retirement

My Comments: The idea of retirement has been part of my psyche since day one. My parents had friends while I was growing up who were retired and there was discussion about retirement in the household. Over the following years, the idea was mainstream, expected, and normal. Now, not so much. When you think about …

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You Got a Better Idea?

My Comments: I’ve been accused of being a socialist by those who have no idea, fundamentally, of the definition of socialism. If they heard it on Fox News, then it has to be so. I’ve argued in this blog and elsewhere that Obama’s efforts to reform the health care delivery system in this country was …

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Correction Seen as Welcome

My Comments: You should first note the date when Jeff Benjamin posted these comments. For whatever reason, I saved them and decided this morning would be a good day to bring them to the table again. What is happening to the DOW and the S&P500 and Russell 2000 is a good thing. In the short …

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Prospect of Financial Crisis Tops Fears of Pre-retirees

My Comments: You will note to the right of my image as you look at this page a comment about my professional objectives as a financial planner and consultant. None of us live in a vacuum where we avoid the influence by what we hear on TV, what we read in the papers and somehow …

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Bits and Pieces

DOW HIGH - The Dow swung in and out of negative territory July 31st, but was up more than 100 at its session high, setting a fresh intraday record of 15,634.32. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq held their modest gains. Earlier, the Nasdaq hit its best level since October 2000. All three major averages …

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What’s Happening?

My comments: For many of my clients, the recent quarterly statements from their custodian was disturbing. The numbers suggested and does suggest that their investments are at risk and some are asking whether we’re looking at another major financial crisis. None of this is new to me; I've been down this road several times before …

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Bernanke Signals Flexibility on Tapering

My Comments: A few weeks ago, the Federal Reserve Board met and then Ben Bernanke made some comments to the effect that what is knows as Quantitative Easing, or QE, was about to end. The markets went nuts, the day to day volatility in the markets was off the charts, and investors were not happy …

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How the Mortgage Interest Deduction Could Change

My Comments: As someone who has a home mortgage, I’ve long enjoyed the abilty to write off the interest I pay against my taxable income. If these folks are right, I’ll be eligible for a tax credit instead of an expense item and I may very well enjoy a higher benefit. But if you think …

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The Legality of Offshore Planning: an Introduction

My Comments: This blog post by Hale Stewart, derives in part from his expertise with captive insurance companies, and the fact that they are often set up in an offshore jurisdiction to provide a layer of asset protection for those using the concept. There are now approximately 17 states that allow and encourage the creation …

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