College vs Retirement
One of the most challenging decisions that parents have to make is the allocation of their savings dollars to various long-term priorities and goals. When I meet with young couples, the first order of business is making sure that their is a cash savings account (with at least 6 months of living expenses) and a […]
Driverless Cars = More Sex in Cars
According to research just published in the Annals of Tourism Research, people will now be able to “eat, sleep, and engage in on the road hanky panky” once autonomous cars become the new normal. Maybe the lure of rolling romance will be enough for people to put away their cell phones for awhile. To read […]
Women Face More Risk in Retirement
Over the years, I’ve come across many individuals and families that have neglected to create a financial plan for many convenient reasons. Lack of time; lack of resources or simply thinking that retirement is so far off that they won’t have to worry about it until much later. While studies have shown that both men […]
Don’t Follow The Herd Into Hot ETFs!
One of the major reasons that retail investor portfolios under-perform the market is because they too often chase performance. Whether it’s real estate, stocks, mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs), retail investors just can’t help themselves when it comes to purchasing securities that have had a significant run-up in value. And it’s not […]
NFL exec’s technique for assessing football players also works on stocks
NFL executives are similar to Wall Street execs….Finding great investments involves tons of data mining.
Social InSecurity
According to a recent report by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, the financial state of the Social Security program is worse than the government says it is. This should not be a surprise, as government forecasts for future spending needs are often underestimated. The Wharton report believes the government is […]
Don’t Fear the Bear
I’ve read several articles lately that are predicting an upcoming recession based on one or more of the following: current trade spats; a flattening yield curve; over-valued stocks; global political turmoil; increasing corporate debt and tightening of monetary policy by the Fed. They could be right, but most often they’re wrong. In any event, don’t […]
Avista Mid-Year Market Review
At this time last year, the equity markets were enjoying a wave of enthusiasm spurred on by resurgent economic growth and corporate profits. The S&P cruised to a gain of 7%, on it’s way to a 20% annual return. The Nasdaq jumped 11% by the midway point of 2017 and finished the year up nearly […]
Capital Markets Work!
In my nearly 10 years of managing money for investors, I’ve come across many people who are too afraid to put their money into the stock market. Unless your parents have left you a huge trust fund, or you can sing like Adele or dunk like LeBron; you really don’t have a choice. Putting your […]
Avoid These 5 Inherited IRA Mistakes
So you just inherited an IRA from your Uncle Bob…Don’t give up to 50% of the IRA to Uncle Sam! Some mistakes in your financial planning can be overcome, but failing to know the rules in Inherited IRAs can be fatal. In order to keep more of the money in your pocket, avoid these 5 […]