Retirement Watch Weekly
Should You Opt for Social Security Lump Sum Benefits?
Do you know there’s an option to receive up to six months of benefits in a lump sum when initiating Social Security retirement benefits? Not many people do, until they apply for benefits. While a nice option, too many people are surprised by it and don’t receive the benefit package that’s best for them because […]
Ensuring Your IRA is Safe from Creditors
Is your IRA safe from creditors? Your assets are at risk from several directions. Of course, there always is the potential for a downturn that reduces cash flow from your job, business, or investments. Creditors could seek payment from your personal assets. Lawsuits are another risk. Some occupations, such as being a doctor, carry high […]
Avoiding the Most Common Causes of Failed Estate Planning
Many estate plans end in failure, and most of those failures were preventable. Estate planners know that many plans don’t produce the results the owners intended. The failures usually don’t spring from the tax strategies or language in the will. The failures most often result from the human side, or soft side, of estate planning. […]
Leveraging the Tax Code to Make Your Nest Egg Last Years Longer
Would you like to make your nest egg last years longer during retirement? Would you like to do that without worrying about the markets or searching for the hottest investments? You can. Over the years my research, confirmed by others, found a nest egg will last years longer if you pay attention to a few tax […]
The Fed’s Balancing Act, the Markets and Your Portfolio
Central bankers are dancing on a tightrope as they try to steer us toward higher interest rates and less monetary stimulus without triggering a downturn. Beginning in 2009, central banks made the markets safe for risk-takers by flooding the globe with money. The results were a very long period of modest economic growth and one of […]
Do Mutual Fund Manager Changes Matter?
Occasionally a change in the manager of a mutual fund makes financial headlines and influences the flow of investor dollars. A high-profile departure such as Bill Gross of PIMCO a few years ago can cause hundreds of millions of dollars, or more, to leave a fund. But there are many fund manager changes during the […]
The Unexplored Cause of the Financial Crisis and Stock Market Crash
Easy central bank policies and lax mortgage lending were, of course, key factors. But most discussions of the crisis don’t explain the role of what’s sometimes called the shadow money market. This consists of privately-arranged loans between banks and various investors or lenders. The loans usually were for very short terms, often five days or […]
A Case for Value Investing
Numerous studies show that an investor earns more over time by investing in stocks selling below their intrinsic value by a variety of measures. It’s known as value investing. But most investors aren’t value investors. This article explores why, with the main reason being that investors don’t have long enough time horizons. They focus on […]
