Anthony Isola

Testing 29% of a person’s potential is a failing grade

There is much wrong with our current system of public education. Many of us are innumerate and have a primitive knowledge of basic finance. Contrast this to the fact many graduates of our schools have received mediocre grades yet have gone on to change the world. What gives? Most students are evaluated on only two…

403beware !

Rodney Dangerfield received “no respect” from his son in the 1986 film “Back to School”. Thankfully, the actor who played his son inhabits parts unknown, but the lack of respect for teachers’ finances is very much prevalent. Most teachers are modern-day versions of Rodney Dangerfield based on the way they have been treated by the…

Goodfella’s or Goldman???

“Leave the gun, take the cannolis.” This classic line from “The Godfather” is pretty easy to understand. This is a stark contrast from the smorgasbord of investment products offered up by the Alchemists employed by some of Wall Street’s biggest firms. While Goodfella, Henry Hill was a thug, his “customers” clearly knew where they stood…

The Walking Dead

Persia, Detroit, Blockbuster Video, and the New York Yankees. These seemingly unrelated words have one common attribute: Each failed to embrace change and became extinct or irrelevant. As we speak, the world is undergoing a massive shift in the way knowledge is being disseminated. The idea that an organization can be built by acquiring knowledge…

Uninformed Investors often suffer Catatstrophic Losses

A catastrophic loss is defined as a stock suffering a 70% or greater permanent loss. This means someone bought a stock at 10 and it went down to 3 and never went back up. Sadly this is the fate of many stocks. Since 1980 about 40% of the stocks in the Russell 3000 index suffered…

Money Won’t buy Happiness

Why is it that a tribesman living in a jungle without an I-phone is happier than the average American? Studies have proven that trying to keep up with neighbors and watching celebrity lifestyle programs have a negative effect upon happiness. In fact, many people will choose friends on an equal or lower economic scale than…

The Expensive Private College Rip-Off

While many exclusive and expensive private colleges have large endowments that are supposed to go to those in most need, this is not true. According to an article in that crazy left wing magazine Forbes, Maggie McGrath exposes a seedy side to the financial aid formula. It is called “financial aid leveraging” and it has…

“Holy, My 403(b) Plan Is Not Free, Batman!”

The reason most teachers do not have low-cost index funds in their 403(b) plans is because they are too inexpensive. Financial salespeople have little incentive to sell a product when they will receive a small percentage of a number like 0.10%, the cost of a typical total market index product. On the other hand, provide…

Can these guys stoop any lower?

Continuing with their tradition of diversified malfeasance. http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20140731/FREE/140739968/ex-ubs-broker-accused-of-defrauding-elderly-in-ponzi-scheme

Why working with a Stock Broker still sucks

In todays WSJ there was an article about how a Wall Street’s firm top producing brokers were being treated to an all expense paid junket to Maui. On arrival they were treated to “pillow gifts” such as Maui Jim sunglasses and GoPro cameras. These members of “The Chairman’s Club” are being rewarded for grossing the…