Anthony Isola

Annuities of Mass Destruction

  Unlike the evasive WMD’s that were never found in the Iraqi desert, expensive and inappropriate annuities are all the rage in many teachers retirement plans. This practice must be stopped before the retirement dreams of many educators are blown to smithereens. William Bernstein, one of the sharpest minds in the investment world once stated,…

When Business Dares to Get Personal

It is often said that business and personal matters need to be compartmentalized with a solid barrier between the two. When it comes to meaningful financial planning, nothing could be further from the truth.  I should know, that is how I ended up in this business, when I had little interest about finance at all….

Revenge of the Teachers

  My name is Tony Isola.  My message is crystal clear. I am sick and tired of seeing teachers being ripped off in their retirement plans. I have reached my breaking point. This ends today. Right now! This travesty has largely been ignored by the financial media and grossly under-served by the adviser community Our mission…

This Is Boston Not L.A.: A Primer on Financial Poseurs

Definition of Poseur: “A person who pretends to be what he or she is not: an affected or insincere person.” When I went to college in Boston during the 1980s, there was a great debate taking place. I am not talking about whether the Socratic Method was still a relevant teaching strategy. The issue was much…

Everyone Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth

Aphorisms are short bursts of knowledge that you really have to think about. In our immediate gratification society, this is no easy task. Some of the greatest investors in the world spend an inordinate amount of time thinking. You can include Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger at the top of this list. Revisiting these timeless bits of…

10 Sports Terms that Help Explain Wall Street

In honor of Jason Zweig’s new book, The Devil’s Financial Dictionary, I came out with a mini-dictionary of my own, using common sports terminology. These terms will help the average investor understand how they are being deceived by fancy-pants Wall Street guys speaking in their own lingo, designed to confuse and obfuscate the masses. Unlike…

Don’t Be an Index Fund Zealot: It’s Fees that Matter

Many investors build a modern day version of The Berlin Wall between implementing strategies using index funds vs. those espousing active management. Like anything else, the answer lies somewhat in the middle. Acting as a zealot in either direction could result in many lost  investment opportunities. Most don’t realize this but the “Godfather”of indexing, Jack Bogle, is not against…

We didn’t Start the Fire

Housing bubble, sub-prime Countrywide out of its mind. Mozilo’s tan, Thain’s rug James Cayne is pretty smug. Goldman’s Muppets, Fabulous Fab Bailout Nation about to blab CDO’s, Dimon’s wine Bernanke says, “It’s all confined.”   We didn’t start the fire Brokers always been churning, so they could keep earning. We didn’t start the fire, Don’t…

Five Ways to Invert Your Broker’s Advice

“Invert always invert. It is in the nature of things, as Jacobi knew, that many hard problems are best solved only when they are addressed backwards.” Charlie Munger   These words from Charlie Munger’s 1986 speech can be used as a lifeline for investors being fleeced by unscrupulous brokers. Turning their advice upside down and applying…

Alternative to What? Making Money??

Over the years Wall Street has come out with new products to help investors “hedge” the risk of often wild and crazy markets. Liquid Alternatives, Unconstrained Bond Funds, Master Limited Partnerships and (the granddaddy of them all) Hedge Funds, are some of the fancy names thrown around to impress naïve investors. These funds are often…