My Comments: There are six questions asked here and the responses to these questions lead the author to conclude that we as Americans are experiencing more comfort as the economy slowly improves. At least that's my conclusion. This is not easy to follow but on a rainy Monday, this might give you a measure of …
Tag: financial planning
J.P. Morgan Weekly Market Recap – August 27, 2012
For those of you who pay attention and want to time the market, here’s this weeks best summary:
Listening to Complainers Is Bad for Your Brain
My Comments: Complain? Who, me? You must have me confused with someone else! By Minda Zetlin | Aug 20, 2012 Do you hate it when people complain? It turns out there's a good reason: Listening to too much complaining is bad for your brain in multiple ways, according to Trevor Blake, a serial entrepreneur and …
Continue reading Listening to Complainers Is Bad for Your Brain
Another Overview of Trusts, Part 2
Trusts, Pt. 2: When should they be used? My Comments: This comes from Hale Stewart, an attorney in Houston, Texas. He and I have spoken as a result of his interest in captive insurance companies and asset protection. He is the author of the book U.S. Captive Insurance Law and is currently working on his …
Top 10 Biggest College Savings Plans
The 10 biggest 529 plans for the fourth quarter of 2011 are ranked by asset size My Comments: A 529 Plan is an IRS approved idea that allows you to set aside after-tax money in a special account where it will hopefully grow. Then, when you withdraw the money to pay for college education approved …
Top 10 Dangers of Alternative Investments
My Comments: I think we can agree that one objective when designing an investment portfolio is to have diversity. For those of you who remember a company and a scandal called Enron, apart from the fact that Enron fell off the face of the earth, the retirement plan investments for most of their employees was …
Hong Kong is Bringing Democracy to China
My Comments: The proper mangement of clients money is something I take very seriously. Not only because I’ve been entrusted with a critical component of someone’s financial future, but also because my livelihood is at stake as well. If I screw up your trust in me, my ability to buy groceries and gas for my …
Another Overview of Trusts, Part 1
My Comments: This comes from Hale Stewart, an attorney in Houston, Texas. He and I have spoken as a result of his interest in captive insurance companies and asset protection. He is the author of the book U.S. Captive Insurance Law and is currently working on his Ph.D. From time to time, my clients ask …
Can We Eliminate Lawsuits?
I’m talking here about medical malpractice claims and the short answer is “No”, but the long answer is “We can go a long way toward limiting them.” That’s the conclusion I came to recently after talking with a retired physician. She told me she had been sued some twenty years ago, and that it consumed …
The Big Retirement Lie
My Comments: The ideas behind this article have filtered through my mind for decades. Everyone and their brother talks about the value of socking away money in an IRA or other tax advantaged retirement plan. And there is an advantage to this, only it has nothing to do with taxes. The advantage is the perceived …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 