Trying not to be self-serving with this – I am, after all, a financial advisor. The point of this post is to explain that, in spite of all of the negative press that folks in the financial advice-giving business have been receiving of late, there are still very good reasons to have an advisor on [...]
Posts under ‘fiduciary’
Fiduciary Standard for All Advisors?
There has been a raging debate going on in the financial advisory world. You see, there are two primary governing bodies for folks in the financial services business: the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). There are others, literally dozens, but these are the two primary governing bodies. The Players [...]
Problems and (proposed) Solutions for 401(k) Plans
The 401(k) plan has been under a great deal of scrutiny lately, with quite a few proposals being offered to “fix” the system. Granted there are a few problems with the system that is in place, but the overall concept is still good. What follows is strictly my opinion of some of the real “problems” [...]
5 No-No’s for IRA Investing
It is generally well-known that in an IRA account you have a wide range of investment choices, typically only limited by the custodian’s available investment choices. There are, though, specific investing activities that are prohibited with IRA funds. What’s Not Allowed for IRA Accounts? Self-Dealing. You are not allowed to make investments in property which [...]
Comprehensive Financial Planning – Explained
From time to time, the question is asked of me: What exactly makes up a comprehensive financial planning engagement? Since you know from reading about my practice that I operate in an hourly, fee-only fashion, you should know that a truly comprehensive financial planning engagement requires 10 to 15 hours of effort by the financial [...]
401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009
In addition to the “tweaks” that I talked about in this post, more components of the 401(k) landscape are receiving focus. In this particular case, we’re aiming for more disclosure and information about fees for plan participants. 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009 Specifically, under this bill, 401(k) plan participants would receive [...]
401(k) Plan Tweaks
How many times recently have you heard the line “Well, I looked at my 401(k) statement and now it looks more like a 201(k). Hahahaha!” ? And are you getting pretty sick of that line like I am? I mean, for cryin’ out loud, there’s not even a §201(k) in the Internal Revenue Code! How ridiculous [...]
Snake Oil Sales, 2009 Style
By now you’re probably sick to death of the conversation around the Jim Cramer vs. Jon Stewart ratings booster. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, you can find a CNN report about the whole affair here. An interesting point in all of those conversations is that, in spite of what you may think, [...]
And if you've come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed "advisor's advisor".
