Selling should not be defined as persuading. Talking people into buying things that they do not need adds no value. Selling should be construed as determining a fit between the buyer’s need and the seller’s supply; the key word being need. Once a good match is determined, then the job is to facilitate the next step. Here…
Prepping For Double Intense Carnage
“I hope to God I know what I am doing.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander Meticulous planning and a good deal of luck are two of the most important ingredients for success. Like the old saying goes, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” This is true in creating…
BOOM! There Goes Your Pension!
Some state employees may be in for a rude surprise regarding their guaranteed pensions, and it might cost them a comfortable retirement. To make matters worse, public employees tend to ignore the opportunity to save for retirement in their 403(b) plans because they have put all of their faith in tenuous pension promises. The problem…
A Financial Fix that Would Make Arnold Rothstein Proud
The opposition to laws designed to shield investors from conflicted interests expose the dark underbelly of too many financial firms. The methods they employ to protect their valued hunting grounds often border on the despicable. Take for instance a common defense of the indefensible; the so called “expert” testimony. Washington D.C. is overflowing with think tanks that often…
This Is Your Brain On Annuities
Annuity salespeople are literally hunting in the zoo. These complex products are often misused while clients are abused. This is not to say that some people would not benefit from a low-cost annuity as part of an asset allocation strategy. The problem is the majority of the time the wrong people are targeted by…
Risk Literacy Must Precede Financial Literacy
People need to be more certain about uncertainty. Life is not a math problem. Investing provides ground zero for the cost of this neglect. “I don’t know,” “maybe,” and “it depends,” are words that are clearly lacking in the vocabularies of too many investors and those who are paid to advise them. This belief…
Warning: Don’t Jump Into this Dark Kiddie Pool
Ustocktrade L.L.C. just lobbed a big turd into the dark pool. Its founder, Tony Weeresinghe, has inexplicably created a private stock exchange where novice investors can trade with each other in secret. Professional investors buy and sell stocks in the murky waters of dark pool exchanges for specific purposes. They want to keep their strategies secret…
The Fiduciary: A Higher Calling?
Dina here … In one week, President Trump will sit face-to-face with Pope Francis; the world’s most visible and outspoken proponent of looking out for those who most need protecting. Who knows? Maybe he can convince Trump of the importance of the Fiduciary Rule? Now that would require Divine Intervention. Pope Francis: The Best Case…
An Aggressively Clueless Investment
While the fiduciary law languishes on death row, investors are now allowed to trade 4X leveraged ETFs. Such is the state of the world we live in. For the uninitiated, these funds allow investors to participate in 4X the daily movement on both the upside or downside of the daily fluctuations of the fund’s holdings….
When The Investment Train Is Too Crowded — Get Off!
Following the herd in life — or investing — tends to end badly. Last night we were trapped in the transportation hell-hole called New York Pennsylvania Station. There was some sort of “signal” problem which ended cancelling 80 trains. When this happens, a nuclear chain reaction ensues. Since so many trains are cancelled, the crowd then…
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