February 15, 2020 By: John Zeltmann Recently I received a very helpful email from Social Security, filled with tips on how to avoid scams related to my Social Security account. Everything in the email seemed legit: "If you get a suspicious call from Social Security, hang up and report it!" (A helpful link was even provided so I could easily...
February 15, 2020 In this instance, the word “sky” refers to the stock market, and all that happens when markets fall. As we haven’t had a so-called bear market (i.e., a loss in value of more than 20%) in more than ten years – though we came within a whisker in the fourth quarter of 2018 – there are undoubtedly...
December 31, 2019 While shopping recently, I was asked by a cashier how much she would owe in taxes on an IRA she liquidated. It was an interesting question on many levels. Aside from the fact that I don’t even know her last name (nor does she know mine, though she knows I do something with ‘money’ for a living)...
December 31, 2019 Based on the daily news, it seems that there are aren’t enough warnings when it comes to financial crimes against the elderly. While some of the scams seem so obvious (Did you ever knowingly enter a lottery in Nigeria?), we react differently when we’re in the moment. You’re distracted, the phone rings, you hear the word ‘police,’...
December 31, 2019 As clients know, we use several mutual funds offered by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) when we build investment portfolios. Their passively managed funds are based on extensive research, that claims to identify certain company-specific attributes that lead to better performance over extended periods. This article 1 by DFA, ‘Key Questions for the Long-Term Investor,’ seeks to answer...
By John Zeltmann December 24, 2019 Congress recently passed one of the most significant pieces of retirement planning legislation in a decade: The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act ("the SECURE Act"). The new law changes how we plan for our clients' financial lives, so we thought it would be helpful to summarize the key implications. Some highlights...
November 15, 2019 I typically use Stan’s World as a space where I share with clients various experiences in my life that might relate to them. Perhaps it’s about a study I read that may be relevant to a few or a lesson learned that might apply to others. In this instance, Stan’s World will be about taking things for...
November 15, 2019 One of my daughters recently took a call on her cell phone because the caller ID showed the name of one of her sisters. But when she answered, she was surprised to find that it was a solicitation. Surprise! How’d they do that? It turns out that everyone can spoof a phone number. As Doug Shadel writes...
Source: Direxion Funds November 15, 2019 BIG PERCENTAGE – The market cap of the S&P 500 is 80% of the total market capitalization of all US stocks as of 9/30/19 (source: BTN Research). IS THAT ENOUGH? - 58% of 1,015 Americans surveyed in August 2019 believe that a retiree who has accumulated $1 million in pre-tax investment accounts will be...
September 30, 2019 I’ve detected recurring patterns when working with clients of different ages. Clients in their 40s and early 50s, for example, tend to ask various questions that pertain to the theme “How am I going to get there?” They want to know how much they need to save, how many years they have to work, and how much...