Dina here… One of the biggest challenges to achieving long-term investment goals is not market returns. It happens to be overcoming the fears that freeze you in place. Being stuck can be every bit as dangerous as being wrong. In my latest blog, A Plan to Overcome Panic Paralysis, I share my own experience with…
Anthony Isola
Who Is Your Financial Advisor?
In honor of the opening of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, Abbot and Costello’s classic 1938 comedy bit “Who’s on First” has been revised to fit the 2017 standard of conflicted financial advice. Since this is the season where “hope springs eternal,” why not add the current state of financial services to this period when 30…
The Pay Day Loan of the Middle Class: Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance policies are not suitable for the majority of the population. Due to the enormous conflict of interests in the insurance world, the worst policies pay the agents the highest commissions; heads you lose, tails they win. The worst part of this policy is this damning fact: 80% of the individuals who purchase this…
Don’t Be An Elitist Investor
Acting like a snob will not make you many friends. It will also cost you a lot of money. Many people are familiar with Warren Buffett’s 2007 $500,000 bet that any combination of hedge funds would not outperform the S&P 500 Index over the next 10 years. Though investors have paid the enormous fee of 2%…
How to Create Your Own Equity-Indexed Annuity
“If you can’t explain it to a 6-year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” Albert Einstein The majority of people who purchase equity-indexed annuities have no idea they could accomplish their goals in a much cheaper, simpler way. Equity-indexed annuities are sold with the promise of nirvana for investors; i.e., some or all of “market returns” without the…
Steve Bannon’s Scary “Economics Of Revenge”
“You may make mistakes but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else” – Mary Pickford All of us may pay a steep price for the awful investment decisions of Steve Bannon’s father. During the height of the 2008 financial panic, Marty Bannon sold his large concentrated position of AT&T stock at…
An Annuity that Could only be Sold by Satan
“Are there any ‘Last Minute Cowboys’ who can saddle up and ride?” An IPI Senior Regional Director (AKA Douchebag) Improper annuity sales by sleaze bag brokers are not exactly current events. This case sticks out for its sheer evil. A company called IPI financial made an unholy alliance with a group of community banks. According…
Financial Evolution to Revolution
“If you want to launch a revolution, don’t ask yourself, ‘How many people support my ideas?’ Instead ask, ‘How many of my supporters are capable of effective collaboration?’”– Yuval Noah Harari Individual investors need to galvanize behind the right type of leaders if they intend to overthrow the current conflicted financial services industry. The Russian Revolution…
Some Insane Things People Believe About Retirement
Delusional is an excellent word to describe the average American’s thoughts on the requirements for a successful retirement. Fidelity Investments decided to tackle this problem with a short but in-depth survey based on retirement assumptions people make. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most Americans missed these eight key retirement questions — and some were way, way off. The…
Tsu-money Crushes Investor Protections
“Washington is like a strip club. You’ve got people tossing dollars, and people doing the dance.” – Mike Huckabee A tidal wave of money is crashing down on individual investors, crushing their protections against financial salespeople. The results are seen in the rollback of key regulations designed to protect the interests of common folk. We…