My Comments: Last week I attempted a definition of the word FIDUCIARY. My goal was to somehow increase the chances that financial professionals who use the term “advisors” are in fact fiduciaries, and as such, bound by law, by tradition, by ethics, to act and behave in their clients best interests. As a reminder, there …
Continue reading What the Dept. of Labor Might Do With the Fiduciary Rule
My Comments: The people at Kiplinger have created another great blog post for me to borrow. I encourage you to explore their site and gather as much information as you need. If, at the end of the day, you need someone local to help you make smart financial decisions, Florida Wealth Advisors LLC has its' …
My Comments: As a financial planner and insurance agent for almost 40 years, I’ve sold my share of life insurance policies. Many of them are still in force, though I have had my share of clients who pass away. The IRS is sensitive to those of us who promote the tax benefits of life insurance. …
Continue reading How to Get Tax-free Retirement Income With Life Insurance
My Comments: There are just as many ways to lose money with bonds as there are with stocks. The risk is different; what happens to interest rates in the future vs corporate earnings and their relative size. That’s an oversimplification but you get the idea. The chart above shows interest rates from 1790 – 2012. …
My Comments: Followers of this blog may remember my frequent mention of Thomas P.M. Barnett, a prolific writer and thought leader on global economics and political forces. Years ago he said that within a couple of decades, the US would become a net exporter of energy. He asserted this transformation would re-write a lot of …
Continue reading Energy Price Spread: Natural Gas Vs. Crude Oil In The U.S.
My Comments: Yes, the title above is a little odd, but the word "optimism" caused me to stop and read. By every contemporary, standard definition, I am a “financial advisor”. That term is restricted, or should be, to those of us providing financial advice to clients that conforms to a fiduciary standard. Simply put, we …
Continue reading It Is Informed Optimism To Wait For The Rain
My Comments: I’m conflicted. On one hand I’m disturbed by the growing threat to our individual privacy as demonstrated by what the NSA has been doing and will continue to do. On the other hand I’m disturbed by the threats I feel coming from those on the right who are more inclined to live in …
Continue reading The Imperial Presidency is Quietly Striking Back
My Comments: For many years, more than I care to remember, I searched for wisdom from among the many magazines and more recently, the many emails that cross my desk on a daily basis. How and what was going to happen and how could I help my clients benefit from the insights that surely came …
My Comments: Understanding how markets work over time is a very helpful skill set if you are advising clients about their money. Especially if they are worried about where money will come from to pay their bills far into the future. For many, the short term “noise” that comes from what one reads in papers …
Continue reading Treading Water: Four Economic & Market Trends Likely to Continue in 2014
My Comments: I am almost always amused by those who shout “Take Back America!”. But it’s not really amusing, is it? Take it back to when? Take it back from whom? Before women had the right to vote? When the average life expectancy was about age 50? Many of us, who today are over 60 …
Continue reading The American Public’s Indifference to Foreign Affairs
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