Unlike the Appeals Court, Barbara Roper doesn’t think the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary rule is “too broad and unreasonable.” The timing of our podcast is impeccable. Barbara is Director of Investor Protection for the Consumer Federation of America. CFA is an alliance of approximately 300 pro-consumer organizations which, in turn, represent more than 50 million individual consumers….
Bloodied But Unbowed
Delay, divide and conquer is the legal strategy of conflicted financial salespeople. They are targeting The Fiduciary Rule designed to protect investors from financial predators. Their sleazy tactics drew blood last week. In a date that will live in financial infamy, a U.S. Appeals court in Texas shot down the Labor Department’s rule. “Too broad and unreasonable,” according…
It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?
Maybe I should send these out to members of the Trump administration. Like some us, retirement may come sooner than we anticipated. The worst financial companies keep you from accessing your own funds. New York Times Don’t receive a failing grade for your retirement. MarketWatch A Day of Infamy for Investors. Court rules against the…
Financial Sludge Part Deux
The worst financial firms don’t get that it’s YOUR money. Why do people need to hire a cryptologist to get their OWN money back? I wrote about this problem here. The New York Times exposes Voya, a leading provider of 403(b) plans for teachers. According to Ron Lieber, they have created their own form of financial Chinese…
Kill the Caricature
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde Dina here … When asked by strangers what I do for a living, nothing makes people recoil more than realizing my profession has to do with financial matters. If only they knew that, as a fee-only fiduciary, my role as a financial advisor is markedly…
Your Child Isn’t A Travel Team Mutual Fund
Warning labels should be attached to travel teams and high fee investments. Both are dangerous to your health and wealth. TD Ameritrade estimates that 63% of American families spend between $100 and $500 per child a month on youth sports. Astonishingly, 20% spend more than $12,000 a year. Sports are terrific.They teach many essential life…
Don’t Listen to Financial History Abusers
History doesn’t predict the future. It does predict how homo-sapiens typically react to the unexpected; hint — usually not good. Morgan Housel describes the mistaken lessons of history in Ideas That Changed My Life: “History is abused when specific events are used as a guide to the future. It’s way more useful as a benchmark for how…
It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?
Here are this weeks retirement links. Read, learn, apply, and enjoy! You have reached the tipping point when your annual contributions start to match your average yearly gains. HumbleDollar WTF? New Jersey just increased the expected rate of future returns for it’s struggling pension system. Reuters There could be some changes coming to Social Security….
Four Common College Planning Mistakes
Most know little to nothing about the biggest investment they will ever make: funding a college education. If a family has two or more children, their total college expenses could end up being more than their mortgage. Considerably more planning and research should comprise this financial decision. While the majority of people in this country…
Misfits, Outcasts and Criminals
Financial services employ many good people; unfortunately, misfits, outcasts, and criminals lurk in the shadows. Rarely is the view of an entire industry shaped by the majority. Extremes dominate perception and the financial services industry is no different. On one side there are companies like Vanguard, backed by a legion of fee-only Registered Investment Advisors…
Learn More
The Retirement Pyramid
Listen to Our Podcast
