Linksharing 7/5/2009

I think I’ll keep up with this activity, sharing links to others’ blog entries that I found compelling over the past week or so – just don’t hold me to a schedule, I can’t promise that I’ll always have time to do this…

Last week I found this blog post from Kevin O’Reilly (a member of Garrett Planning Network) of Foothills Financial Planning on his excellent blog called Many Things Finance.  Kevin underscores, with support from a recent TD Ameritrade study, that most folks in the investing public do not understand when they are or are not being treated appropriately by “advisors”.  As we’ve discussed here before, the only way to ensure that the advisor is working in your best interest is to make certain that the advisor is a fiduciary.  A stockbroker who is not a CFP® practicioner is not a fiduciary.  The best you can hope for is that the recommendations you get from this person are “suitable” for someone like you – but not explicitly in your best interests.

Keeping with that theme (I think the Madoff sentencing had a profound influence on us!) my colleague and friend Jeff “don’t call me Jan” Rose of Alliance Investment Planning Group wrote a very good, easy-to-follow article about how to do a background check on your financial advisor on his blog, “Good Financial Cents”.

Lon Jeffries, a Fee-Only Financial Planner and Fiduciary who writes in a blog called Independent Fee Only Financial Planner and Retirement Advisor, wrote an interesting article on the common question about a preferred stock – is it a stock, or a bond?

And my friend Helen Maynard at Affine Financial Services wrote an article about title insurance – and while Helen admits up front that this is a real yawner of a topic, this is the very sort of thing that we should review carefully when trying to determine if it makes financial sense to spend money on.

Fellow Garrett Planning Network member Kristine McKinley over at Beacon Financial Advisors reminds us that “It’s Summertime – Time for a Midyear Financial Checkup“, a fact that we all tend to overlook as we fill up our available time with ballgames, cookouts, and time spent with family and friends.  It doesn’t have to take over your life, but taking time out from the rest of the distractions can help to keep your finances on track through the years.

Last but certainly not least, yet another fellow Garrett Planning Network member Jean Keener (master of the french horn, not the pan flute as was previously incorrectly reported) of Keener Financial Planning writes about “Estate Planning Opportunities in a Down Market“.  Jean walks us through some of the benefits that can be achieved in your estate planning process during these otherwise difficult financial times, pointing out the silver linings we might have otherwise missed.

That’s all for this week…

Photo by ingermaaike2

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Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA, is an expert in personal retirement, IRAs, and tax issues, with more than 20 years of experience in the industry.  . Read more from this author