“Bonus” Points with Institutional Shares
As we approach the third anniversary of our firm’s transition to a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser, investment accounts are beginning to accumulate what I think of as bonus points. These bonus points derive from using the institutional-class shares we now recommend instead of the retail-class shares we used to recommend. By way of background, remember that when we transitioned accounts to TD Ameritrade we also converted the mutual funds that clients owned from either A-shares or C-shares to institutional shares. The primary benefit of...
read moreThe Retirement Trick
I came across new data about our changing work and retirement habits, showing that in the two decades between 1990 and 2010, older Americans have increasingly continued working. The percentage of 65-69 year-olds in the labor force has increased from 21% to 31.5%. The percentage of 70-74 year-olds has increased from 11.3% to 18%. Even the percentage of 75-79 year-olds has increased from 6.1% to 10.9%. All three age groups are projected to increase their respective percentages even more by the year 2020. There is no single reason why we...
read moreFocus on Companies, Not Governments
As the number and complexity of big problems seem to accumulate almost daily, in both the domestic and foreign policy areas, it seems reasonable to conclude that solutions will not be coming from our federal or state governments. I find that my confidence drains when I think about the government’s general lack of productivity and value. However, my confidence builds every time I learn about companies that are doing interesting, amazing, and innovative things. Companies are our new solution providers. We are living in...
read moreHelping with Your Important Decisions
Not only do we help you make portfolio management decisions, stay on the good side of market volatility, and measure and report your investment performance periodically, but we also help you think through important (usually financial) decisions. Here are examples of real-life client situations that we have helped with just in the past couple of months. When To Begin Social Security One of our clients was prepared to wait another year to begin Social Security at age 66 ½, thereby receiving a 4% increase in amount. Learning she was eligible...
read moreEvidence of Abundance
There can be no denying that we are experiencing a multitude of problems, both foreign and domestic. These problems are vexing and growing with solutions far from certain. However, at the same time, the path of human progress continues to move inexorably toward abundance. It is easy to lose sight of this progress because it is not something we see on the nightly news. For this reason, I want to share four trends that illustrate we are taking leaps and bounds into a world of growing abundance. Human Longevity In 1820, worldwide life expectancy...
read moreThe Beginning of a Correction?
We have been experiencing increased market volatility since the S&P 500 Index peaked on September 18th with lots of big swings both up and down. We don’t worry too much about big swings to the upside, but the big swings to the downside certainly get our attention. When the market has a string of days with the Dow Jones Average falling 200-300 points, one’s natural tendency is to worry that it will keep going until all of the money is lost. This tendency applies to the media, of course, and they begin to report about the drops,...
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