In my advisor practice, a client brought up the question as to whether he could save some money by referring a relative or friend and have that person’s assets to be considered when management fees are calculated. Here’s how it works. All fee-based investment advisors have a sliding fee schedule for their clients. The higher your portfolio value, the smaller …
Stupid Investment of the Century: The IRA Annuity
While on the subject of annuities this week, here’s another doozey I come across every so often: The IRA Annuity. As you know, an IRA is a tax-deferred investment vehicle and so is an Annuity. In my advisor practice I find that, occasionally, a new client comes aboard and his portfolio contains one of those rarities. If you ask your …
Smart Investing: Getting Rid of a Bad Annuity
Ok, I admit it—I am biased when it comes to annuities. My generally negative view is not based on my own experiences but those of clients and a good portion of my newsletter readers (even though their preferred investments are no load mutual funds and ETFs). The stories I hear are very similar in that most people I have talked …
No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 3/23/2007
My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at:http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.phpA strong rally supported by the Federal Reserve’s action, and a neutral statement, had all major indexes showing signs of life. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds moved higher and now sits +4.94% above its long-term trend line (red) as the chart below shows: The international index rallied as …
Will Target-Date Funds Meet Your Retirement Goals?
Lately, I have seen a variety of articles touting the benefits of using target-date funds (also known as Lifestyle or Life-Cycle funds) to reach your retirement goals. One write-up in particular started out by intelligently stating that “low contribution rates could leave investors with a retirement shortfall.” Duh! If I don’t contribute to anything, I’ll be facing some kind of …
No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 3/16/2007
My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at:http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.phpSubprime loan concerns pushed the markets down severely last Tuesday and, while the major averages received, they ended the week slightly down. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds moved lower and now sits +2.93% above its long-term trend line (red) as the chart below shows: The international index slipped …