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Book Review – Backstage Wall Street

Apr 30th, 2012
by jblankenship.
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This was a good book, I truly enjoyed reading it.  The primary reason that I enjoyed it so much is because it’s the book I have been hoping to find from someone like author Joshua Brown: a book that tells the truth about what’s really going on on the seamy side of Wall Street (which is the only side, to be truthful).

Joshua Brown (TheReformedBroker.com) provides a unique perspective – that of someone who has been involved in the “inside” of wirehouse broker-dealers, but who has since seen the light and moved on to a career in independent investment advice.  As such, Mr. Brown has seen the worst of the worst, in terms of how these institutions treat the investing public.  Once he became aware of how it all worked, through a great degree of soul-searching (and a whole lot of gumption), stepped away from it all and has never looked back.

In Backstage Wall Street, Brown lifts the veil of secrecy around how the process works, explaining how the back-room dialers constantly call folks and work through a script to get the recipients of the call to agree to fork over money.  It’s understood that if the person picks up the phone, the longer the broker can keep the person on the phone the better the chance of selling something – no matter how bad it is.  This business is similar to the three-card-monte guy on the street, but worse: by working under the seemingly staid letterheads of large corporations, there is the impression that the callers are giving advice.  In the end, all they are doing is pushing a sale, and the guy calling you doesn’t care if it’s a good thing he’s selling you or not – only that he’s making a sale.

I found the book to be informative mostly in that it is confirmation of what I’ve learned through the years and believed to be true about these outfits.  Joshua Brown has done a great job in exposing the underbelly of the financial industry, and I believe he truly enjoys the position this has put him in.  As noted, he has been referred to as the “merchant of snark” by the New York Times for his expose’, and this snarkiness comes through in his book, making it a fun read in addition to an informative book.

If you have any involvement in the financial services industry as a profession, you probably know (or have an inkling about) many of these things already.  Brown’s insights and presentation make the book worth the read nonetheless (and you’ll probably learn a thing or two along the line).

If you use a broker to “help” with your investments, you owe it to yourself to read this book – asap.  If you have ever found yourself wondering just why it is that your “investment guy” makes one recommendation over another – you need to read this book.  If you have money invested anywhere at all other than bank CD’s, you need to read this book.  I am certain that your eyes will be opened, and you’ll be a better consumer as a result of it.

A Tax-Free Roth Conversion Question of Timing

Apr 4th, 2012
by jblankenship.
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Fern Overgrowth
Fern Overgrowth (Photo credit: MightyBoyBrian)

We’ve discussed here in the past about how it is (at least under present law) a perfectly legal maneuver to make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA and then at some point later convert the same contribution to your Roth IRA (see Is it Really Allowed? for more).  If you have no other IRA accounts, this conversion to Roth can be a tax-free event, especially if there has been no growth or gains in the investments in the account.

However (and there’s always a however in life) I recently came across a situation that was sent to me by a reader, where he wanted to do such a conversion, but he also wanted to rollover some money from his 401(k) plan into an IRA.  The question is in the timing – understandably, if he does the conversion from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA, there will be no tax on the conversion, since he doesn’t have any other IRA accounts.

As we know, when taking distributions from an IRA (such as for a conversion) the taxability of the distribution depends upon the total amount of money in all IRAs, and how much is pre-tax versus how much is post-tax.

Here’s an example: Joe has an IRA with deductible contributions of $4,000 and subsequent growth of $1,000.  He is no longer eligible for deductible contributions to his account, and he also is not eligible for contributions to a Roth IRA, both due to his income level.  He wants to make a non-deductible contribution of $5,000 to the IRA and then later convert the money to his Roth IRA.  When he does the conversion, his $5,000 conversion will be partly taxed – since half of his total IRA is non-deductible contributions, every dollar he converts is 50% taxed, and 50% tax-free.

So, if Joe did the same thing except that he starts out without an IRA, and when he converts $5,000 from his traditional IRA to the Roth IRA, the entire amount of the conversion will be tax-free. Maybe.

Back to the question that the reader posed. What happens, tax-wise, if he does the non-deductible contribution and then later converts the money to Roth, and then later in the same tax year he rolls over his 401(k) plan into an IRA?

Here’s what happens: The Roth Conversion will be partly taxable.  Let’s say the 401(k) rollover is for $10,000.  At the end of the year, when the taxpayer files his tax return he’ll include a Form 8606.  On Form 8606 will be a determination of the amount of his distribution(s) from his IRA that is deemed non-taxable for the year.  This is done by developing a fraction against which his distributions are multiplied.  The fraction is as follows:

Total Non-Deductible Contributions / (Year-End Account Balance + Distribution Amounts + Outstanding Rollovers Not Yet Completed)

The key to this equation that makes his Roth Conversion partly taxable is the fact that the divisor of the equation includes his Year-End Account Balance – not the account balance at the time of his conversion.

So, in the reader’s question, the equation looks like this:

$5,000 / ($10,000 + $5,000 + 0) = 33.33% or 1/3

In other words, only 1/3 of the conversion amount will be tax-free given the circumstances.  If the rollover from the 401(k) plan is delayed to the following tax year, the full amount of the conversion distribution would have been tax-free, all other things remaining the same.

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Book Review: The Wall Street MBA

Apr 2nd, 2012
by jblankenship.
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This book, by Mr. Reuben Advani, sets out to cover much of the pertinent information required in an MBA program within its pages, and I think it does a good job of meeting this goal.  Mind you, I don’t have an MBA degree so I can’t say with certainty that the goal is accomplished, but I’d have to say that the book does an excellent job of hitting all of the important points of required knowledge, specifically as it relates to investing and individual company valuation.  I liked this book, but then again I’m kind of an out-of-the-ordinary accounting/investing geek.

Where I have some confusion with this book is in understanding who is the target audience.  The problem is that the subject matter gets pretty involved in accounting principles that can be overwhelming to the average individual – potentially so much that the average individual may lose interest.  On the other hand, if an individual is a professional who already understands these concepts well enough to follow the book, then that individual probably doesn’t need this book, except as a refresher.

Perhaps the mid-point between a novice and a professional is the target audience.  Someone who has a passing understanding of accounting and investing principles, but who needs a more in-depth explanation of how the principles interact to help with investing activities.

Mr. Advani starts off with a comprehensive overview of basic accounting, which can be helpful if you’ve never had an accounting course or if you need a review.  Mingled in with this overview is an example company, which helps to understand the principles as they are explained.  After that, Advani reviews how this knowledge of accounting can be used to help you understand the relative health of a company as you consider it for investment.  Again, this is good information to know, but I’m not positive that it would be all that useful to the average investor.

One problem that the average investor has when encountering this information is the supposition that knowing how to understand the value of a company is going to somehow make investing in individual companies something of an exact science.  Anyone who has spent much time considering investments, whether as a professional or as an individual investor, can attest to the fact that investing is far from an exact science.

Any number of bad things can happen to an otherwise healthy company – whether it is a downturn in the sales cycle, corruption in the boardroom, labor strife, or the overall economy causing issues.  No matter how much effort is put into reviewing the accounting and valuation of a company, these and may other possible uncontrollable things can cause problems for the company.  It is for this reason alone, the single company’s exposure to risks, that the average investor is not well-served by individual company investing.

Having said all that though, I still believe that this book is a very good resource for the individual who finds him- or herself in a position of reviewing company’s annual report for whatever reason.  I think Advani does a good job of explaining all of these principles in a format that is understandable to the person with little background with this sort of review.  In particular I liked the final couple of chapters, where Mr. Advani gives a rundown of the principles of investing in currencies, real estate, and commodities – areas that often don’t get much attention in explanation.

The above book review is part of a series of reviews that I am doing in an arrangement with McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, where MH sends me books with the only requirement being that I read the book and write a review – like it or not.  If you find the information in this review useful, let me (and McGraw-Hill) know!

Book Review: Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make

Feb 13th, 2012
by jblankenship.
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Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make

This book is a must read for all investors. Author Larry Swedroe has demonstrated once again how he has a full understanding of the average investor’s situation, by listing 77 real-life mistakes that all of us have encountered at one time or another.

What’s more, Mr. Swedroe also takes the time to provide examples of where the mistakes listed have damaged investors’ situations, as well as to show how the investors could have avoided the mistakes.

Larry Swedroe, for the uninitiated, is a best-selling author of many books which explain his concepts of investing – including The Only Guide series, The Quest for Alpha, and others.  These books cover primarily passive investing, or investing without active management, and as such he is a sort of guru in the self-managed investment world.

The listed mistakes in this book include everything from hindsight bias (believing after the fact that a particular occurrence was predictable) to believing that there are experts who can predict the future, as well as believing “this time it’s different”.

The list of the types of mistakes is broken up into four categories: Understanding and Controlling Human Behavior is Important for Investment Success; Ignorance is Not Bliss; Mistakes Made When Planning an Investment Strategy; and Mistakes Made When Developing a Portfolio.

Anyone who owns an IRA or invests in a 401(k) can benefit from this list of mistakes. Often these mistakes can be a part of our investing life without even knowing it – like having too many eggs in one basket (it’s not as easy realize as you think), or being too conservative (it’s easier to do than you think).  Swedroe’s insights are helpful in explaining how the mistake can come to pass, as well as how to avoid these mistakes in the future.

All of this is designed to help you to become a better, more successful and less-stressed investor… all the way down to the last mistake – Do You Keep Repeating the Same Mistakes?  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy – it will be well worth the effort and your investing habits will be much better off for it.

What Amount of Savings Should You Have at 40?

Apr 25th, 2011
by Kelly Austin.
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International Money Pile in Cash and Coins

Image by epSos.de via Flickr

By the time you turn 40, your attention is likely to gain more focus on the amount of savings that you have. If you haven’t already gained control of your spending and saving habits, now is the time to do so. 40 is also an age when you’re probably beginning to think about future retirement or sending the kids off to college. What amount of savings should you have put back by then, and how will you ever be able to accomplish your goal? The truth is, there are no restrictions to the amount of money that you can save if you put your creativity and knowledge to good use.

What Are You Saving For?

Building a hefty savings account is only made more difficult if you do not have a clear idea of exactly what it is that you are saving for. Saving money just to save it can be effective, but it is still important to set a clear goal for yourself. If you know what you are saving for, deciding between a $5 latte and that trip to Italy is made a lot easier. Do you want to be able to travel after the kids leave for college? Do you want to retire early? What about college tuition for your children? All of these are important questions to ask yourself when building a savings account.

Start Saving Early for the Best Payoff

Did you know that if you start saving just $50 per week at the age of 30, you will have more than $40 thousand dollars by the time you are 40 years old? Starting early on savings can have a huge payoff in the end. Ultimately, the longer you are able to save for your goal, the less you have to save each week or month.

Earn Savings by Freelancing Your Skills and Talents

Freelancing your skills on the side can be an excellent source of revenue for your savings. Offering guitar or beading lessons, tutoring and even landscaping on the weekends are all ways that you could earn money towards your savings goal. Trying to save can be difficult if you’re on a tight budget, but there are always new ways to make money.

Maintaining a clear focus on your goals and getting creative with your ideas (rather than letting your savings account overwhelm you) is by far among the best foundations for building a strong savings at 40, or at any age.

This article was written by Kelly Austin from HigherSalary.com. Visit her site for information about the average accountant salary and pay information for other popular careers.

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Tax Bill Higher Than You Expected?

Apr 18th, 2011
by jblankenship.
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Now that you’ve (hopefully) filed your return for 2010, you may have noticed that the bill was higher than you expected.  This may be due to some subtle changes to the tax law that affected your return for this year.  Listed below are some of the changes that you may have been impacted by:

Social Security taxation: Especially if you had unusual income taxed in 2010, such as a Roth Conversion, you could be subject to as much as 85% taxation of your Social Security benefit.

Alternative Minimum Tax: If you’ve been impacted by this, not only are your ordinary income tax items taxed at a higher rate, but your capital gains and dividends could be taxed at a rate higher than 15% as well.  This happens for folks with incomes between $150,000 and $439,800 (or $112,500 and $302,300 for singles) as the AMT exemption phaseout occurs.

Primary School in "open air", in Bucharest
Image via Wikipedia

Child Tax Credit: If your income is over $110,000 ($75,000 if filing Single), the Child Tax Credit reduces by $50 for each $1,000 over that limit.  This has the effect of increasing the marginal tax rate by 5% for each child, as your income increases.

Passive Loss phaseout for rental realty: If your AGI is greater than $100,000, the deduction of up to $25,000 of losses from rental real estate is phased out up to an AGI of $150,000 when the deduction is eliminated altogether.  This can increase the marginal tax rate by 50% ($25,000 credit eliminated as your income increases by $50,000).

There may be other reasons that impact your tax bill, but these are some that have recently come to light as typically occurring.

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Book Review: Investing and the Irrational Mind

Apr 15th, 2011
by jblankenship.
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This was an interesting book for me.  I found that the research that author Robert Koppel has compiled from various sources throughout academia lends a great deal of insight into the “why?” of activities by individuals, professional traders, and others that take part in the great game of investing.

Even though the majority of the discussion and analysis that Koppel brings forth deals with professional traders, the behavioral psychology applies to individual, non-professional investors as well.

An example of a particularly interesting passage is one where Koppel quotes Nassim Taleb from his book, The Black Swan - effective responses to Black Swan Events (such as the 2008 economic crisis or the 9/11 crisis):

  • What is fragile should break early, while it is still small. Nothing should ever become too big to fail.
  • There should be no socialization of losses and privatization of gains.
  • People who were driving a school bus blindfolded (and crashed it) should never be given a new bus.
  • Do not let someone making and “incentive” bonus manage a nuclear plant – or your financial risks.
  • Counterbalance complexity with simplicity.
  • Do not give children sticks of dynamite, even if they come with a warning.
  • Only Ponzi schemes should depend on confidence.  Governments should never need to “restore confidence”.
  • Do not give an addict more drugs if he has withdrawal pains.
  • Citizens should not depend on financial assets or fallible “expert” advice for their retirement.
  • Make an omelet with the broken eggs.

The above list should give you some insight into this book.  It’s not your typical, conventional viewpoints on the activity of investing – buying and selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds and the like. Koppel takes what he knows from his own personal experience (former member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, hedge fund partner, and president of his own division at Rand Financial) as well as discussions with dozens of other folks in the industry, and applies recent psychological findings to it.

Through this application of psychological findings it becomes clear that there is a specific set of skills that leads to success in investing.  Koppel infers that this set of skills is learnable – once you discover and assuage the negative patterns of thought and action that lead to failure.  Much the same as a master sommelier’s ability to discern a wine’s source grape from a mere whiff and a slurp, the professional investors who have learned these skills are often capable of “pulling the trigger” on a purchase or sale of a financial asset in the face of compelling psychological factors that would urge a man to choose otherwise.

Some of these factors include: having a goal for your investing activity; having a plan for both getting into and getting out of every position; understanding your own irrational thought processes and developing a framework for overcoming them; and using your most powerful investing tool – your intuition.

Koppel explains these factors and skills in terms not only of investing, but of sports, love, gambling, and many other facets of life – since the folks who have developed the skill set apply the skills to many areas.  It just so happens that some of these successful folks are also investors for a living.

Although I doubt if reading this particular book will remedy all psychological ills that the investor faces, it does help, in my opinion, to begin to put a face on the things that we do to ourselves that work against our success in investing.

The above book review is part of a series of reviews that I am doing in an arrangement with McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, where MH sends me books with the only requirement being that I read the book and write a review – like it or not.  If you find the information in this review useful, let me (and McGraw-Hill) know!

The Roth Recharacterization

Feb 16th, 2011
by jblankenship.
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420px-Fruchos_character_at_Norwood_Christmas_Pageant_2008After all the hoopla around Roth conversions in 2010, now is the time to consider whether or not a recharacterization is in your future.  So what is a recharacterization, and how does it work?

Recharacterization is the “backing out” of your Roth conversion.  In other words, you can literally make the conversion as if it had never been done at all, with your money back in the traditional IRA where it started.

Why would you want to do that?  Here’s an example: let’s say you converted $100,000 to a Roth IRA in 2010 and you are ready to pay the tax on your 2010 return (you elected out of the spread to 2011 and 2012).  Except that now, your investment in the Roth IRA has dropped in value to only $50,000 – and you still owe tax on the conversion of $100,000!  Yikes – that’s just totally wrong!

Recharacterization can help to save you in this situation.  As long as you act before the due date of your return (including extensions), you can put recharacterization to work for you, moving the $50,000 back to the traditional IRA.  It will be as if nothing was done at all, and no taxes are owed.

Actually, as far as the IRS is concerned you are not moving $50,000 back, you’re moving the original $100,000 and the gains or losses on that original $100,000, which happens to equal $50,000.

Recharacterization Strategy

One way to use this to your advantage is to split your Roth conversions up into separate accounts by specific types of assets, so that if one of the asset types (or more) happens to drop significantly in value, you can recharacterize the conversion on only that account, leaving the other account(s) intact.

This would help with your record-keeping, since any amount that you recharacterize from a Roth to a traditional IRA must include the gains or losses that are attributable to the recharacterized amount.  Of course, you wouldn’t likely recharacterize unless you had net losses in the Roth account – although you might find that recharacterization is a good option if you came up short of cash to pay the tax on the original conversion.

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