As we have previously written, it is difficult for investors to know what to look for in their search for a financial adviser (or advisor). In his most recent Intelligent Investor column for the Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig updates the timeline of the fiduciary rule and points out that since its delay, “the burden
Category: Investing
Welcome to the Herd Mentality
In 1976 I went to work as a stockbroker. Five other brokers and I shared a bullpen, the perfect Petri dish for the Herd Mentality. Every two desks shared a stock quote machine. We were in constant earshot of each other and “dialed for dollars,” almost in unison. When one of us hit a dry
What Should I Do With My Next $_______?
We get this question often. A client will have just received an inheritance or sold a piece of property and has a lump sum of money. Or maybe they have just received a raise or paid off a debt and now have a higher monthly cash flow. “What do I do with this money?” can
Why Bookies Don’t Work Local Swim Meets
My wife and I have been in the thick of swim team at the neighborhood pool. With our 9 and 7 year-old girls on the team and their 4 year-old brother to cheer them on, Tuesday nights take on a whole new meaning. By far, the most entertaining events are the 6 and under heats.
Fiduciary School Bus Drivers
Seven years after the Obama Administration proposed a fiduciary rule to protect investors’ retirement accounts from conflicted advice, the DoL Fiduciary Rule finally went into effect June 9, 2017. What does that mean for investors? Imagine a world where no school system owns their own buses. All busing has been privatized and the DoL Fiduciary
Required Reading for Nearly Anyone: “Being Mortal” by Dr. Atul Gawande
Not Your Typical Summer Beach Read I bought Being Mortal a few years ago on a date night with my wife. We grabbed dinner and stopped through Scuppernong Books to judge books by their covers. We each bought a book and laughed that my choice was a surgeon’s thoughts on “medicine and what matters most
Most Stocks Underperform Treasuries…and Santa’s Not Real
Dr. Hendrick Bessembinder is shattering stock pickers’ dreams like the 2nd grader who tells his classmates the truth about Santa Claus. Looking back over an 89 year period (1926-2015), the Arizona State professor found that the odds of picking winning stocks are not that appealing. In fact, investors would have a better chance at picking
Financial Industry Lost in Translation
Petanque Pétanque is a Bocce-like game that is fun-loving, raucous and peasant-inspired with large doses of heckling the opposing team. This winner-take-all game includes bragging rights and the losing team furnishes Veuve Clicquot champagne. Below I will show you our discovery of this game and how it often relates to financial literacy. Petanque Discovery Through
The Double-Edged Sword of Retirement Savings
How 10% Can Save You 10 Years in Retirement It’s hard to get out of my head that “10 minutes could save you 15% on your car insurance” thanks to GEICO’s never-ending cavemen commercials. Along those same lines, did you know that 10 percent could save you 10 years in retirement? Michael Kitces, whom I
Mama, Where Do Stock Returns Come From? (An Update)
The Birds and The Bees In our 2016 3rd Quarter Market Commentary, Justin wrote a wonderful “birds and bees” explanation of where stock returns come from based on Vanguard founder and investing pioneer Jack Bogle. You can find the full commentary here. The return on any stock, we concluded, is it’s Dividend Yield + Earnings Growth +