While the names of only a few movies make a lasting impression, The Bucket List has enjoyed a long run. The film (2007) was about two men (Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) who ‘escaped’ from a cancer ward and engaged in activities they wanted to accomplish before they ‘kicked the bucket.’
While this scam was easier to detect than some others, you should view every unsolicited email, every random phone call, every text message, and every pop-up with increasing suspicion - because they won't always be this obvious.
We’re not sure there are any more ways to write that market timing doesn’t work, despite the market timing success of your (feel free to fill in the blank with brother-in-law, co-worker, neighbor, or daughter-in-law). As this is an election year, however, you may be convinced that knowing who will win in November will give you a leg-up in the competition (e.g., other investors).
A friend recently told me he was thinking about purchasing a new car. He said the six-year-old car he drives is fine, but he wants another car. He wants a new car. His words: “I’m 76, how many more new cars will I get a chance to buy?” Piggybacking on his thoughts, and amid a bathroom remodel, I asked a variation of the same question: “How many more new toilets will I get a chance to buy?”
Two recent articles have recently pushed back against two widely held conventional wisdoms in financial advice: a) buying a home is better than renting and b) long-term care is the gold standard of covering nursing care costs later in life.
Who hasn’t heard of Warren Buffett, the so-called Oracle of Omaha? The man was known for making great investments and making billions along the way for himself and his shareholders. Warren Buffett is the brilliantly successful chair of Berkshire Hathaway. If you dig just a tad deeper, you will find that Buffett had a crony, a sidekick who spurred him on to some of his greatest investments. A man with an extraordinary ability to select companies and people, and propel both to immeasurable heights. While Warren Buffett is certainly the face of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger served as the able-bodied and brilliant vice-chair.
When clients hire us as their personal financial advisors, we assume a multi-faceted role. Depending on the client’s needs, our responsibilities might include crafting a financial plan; putting together a balance sheet; examining cash flow and expenses; investing, managing, and rebalancing investment assets; linking up with related professionals on the team, to include attorneys and accountants; and a myriad of other actions. We want clients to be reassured; from simple questions to life-changing events, we’re here to help.
People who trade the stock market frequently aren’t concerned about performance over time. They’re concerned with performance each week, day, or even hour. However, when you’re a long-term investor, reference is often made to how the market performs ‘over time.’ Long-term investing, by definition, implies a longer duration.
The AARP Bulletin recently included an article on Super Agers. By definition, a “super ager is someone over 80 with an exceptional memory – one at least as good as a person 20 to 30 years younger.” Based upon the research cited in the article, super agers are quite rare, comprising less than 10% of the population.
Over the past year, it’s likely you were mailed at least one letter from a major retailer advising you they were the victim of a security breach, and that your data was likely compromised. What’s also likely is either: (a) The letter went unopened because you assumed it was junk; or (b) You read the letter and tossed it into the trash, assuming there was nothing you could do about it. As with almost all things security-related, it’s probably time to change that behavior.