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Tastes Like Chicken! Smells Like Fish!

04/26/2012 by

Every once in a while, I run into an investor who bought a financial product that, upon reflection, may not have been totally appropriate given the individual’s personal and financial circumstances.

Not that the investment was completely “wrong”, but perhaps a different product or approach may have better met the client’s goals and objectives.

One thing you can do to help keep this from happening to you, is to find out who the advisor works for. I don’t mean the specific company that employs him or her, but the type of company that employs the advisor. That information can go a long way to help you understand whether the financial advisor’s loyalty is to you, or to the employer.

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Main Street Money

03/02/2012 by

My coach is coming to town! Yes, Mark Matson is coming to Happy Valley March 8th, at the Corner Room from 12 – 2PM. He is kicking off his media tour for the public broadcasting special airing around the country, as well, his new book Main Street Money. The book is awesome by the way…only available now through Public Brodcasting pledges during the many broadcasts to be aired (the special is great as well!). Mark will start a multi-city bus tour in NYC March 7th, stopping by State College March 8th, and onto Pittsburgh for a live broadcast during a special airing March 9th. See link for sneak peek of special:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc7IjPMoow4

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Bonds: Strategies or Schemes

02/23/2012 by

According to Fortune Magazine, Warren Buffett, the Oracle from Omaha, will soon release his annual shareholder letter pointing out that “money-market funds, bonds, mortgages, bank deposits…are thought of as ‘safe.’ In truth they are among the most dangerous of assets…their risk is huge.”

Further in the letter, Mr. Buffet writes that “Right now bonds should come with a warning label.” Why is Mr. Buffett so concerned about these types of investments, many of which are embraced by retirees in their search for a safe haven for their IRAs and 401(k)s?

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From Deb’s Desk – Insider Coaching

02/16/2012 by

Hope this finds you well. It is that time of year when we are all gathering our tax papers, forms 1099’s, 1098’s, W-2’s, etc… Confusing and hectic time of year but also a good time to review, organize and educate yourselves in regards to your finances.

If what you thought was the best way to handle your finances turned out not to be, when would you want to know? And…if you knew, would you do something about it?

2011-2013 tax reporting changes: What you need to know

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Masters of the Universe: Fund Managers

02/02/2012 by

The truth is, very few money managers, if any, can consistently beat the market.

Larry Swedroe, director of research at Buckingham Asset Management in St. Louis and author explains in the video below how…”Past performance has NO predictive value whatsoever,” Swedroe argues, jabbing at the SEC disclaimer that ”past performance is no indication of future results.”

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You Don’t Know, What You Don’t Know

01/19/2012 by

Hidden Fees! They are all over the place when it comes to investing.

At least once a month, an investor tells me that another advisor offered managed accounts where the one and only portfolio cost would be the advisor’s fee. Often the fee quoted would be somewhere between 1.25% and 2.25%, plus or minus a little bit. That other advisor would say that there are no other costs and that everything else is free or all inclusive and that absolutely no other expenses would apply.

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Why did you leave me here all alone?

01/12/2012 by

“Oh where, oh where has the money gone”? That’s what investors trusting their portfolios to MF Global Holdings are singing right now. $1.2 billion in customer funds cannot be found, and no one seems to have any idea what happened to those investment accounts. You might have seen this in the news.

The president of the now bankrupt MF Global, former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, testified at a Congressional Committee Hearing on December 13. In his opening remarks, he said:

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Ringing The Old Year Out and Bringing The New Year In—-

12/22/2011 by

As we look at the 2011 year in review, remember that “this too shall pass”. New Year’s Resolutions are about to begin and as we look forward to 2012, make a New Year’s resolution as it relates to your finances. Take the 30 day challenge, look at income needs vs wants and get a “real” budget in place.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran interviews with four financial advisors soliciting their outlooks for 2012. Specifically, the Journal asked these sages to forecast which sectors had the most promise and which ones investors should avoid next year.

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ABC…1 2 3 the Rules!

12/16/2011 by

Check out this video of Mark Matson’s appearance on Fox Business last Friday. Mark is the CEO and President of Matson Money, the portfolio management firm we use, as well as my personal coach.

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Bet it all on Black not Red

12/12/2011 by

Last Friday marked the 10 year anniversary of Enron Corporation going bust.

On December 2, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy. In the late 1990’s and the very early 2000’s, you could hardly find a growth or a high tech mutual fund that did not list Enron as one of its top 5 holdings. Yes, it was sad when the company tanked, but it was devastating to the thousands of Enron employees who’s 401(k) Retirement Plans were brimming with shares of Enron Stock.

At the time, a little over 60% of Enron employees’ 401(k) accounts held the company stock. About 11% of that was the “company match” portion, but the rest was selected by the employees as a retirement plan holding. And essentially overnight, their plans for a peaceful retirement were shattered.

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Knowing When to Fold’em

12/07/2011 by

An “irrational quest for safety drove all kinds of nutty economic and investment behavior in 2011.” So said the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of the brokerage firm, T. Rowe Price, a couple of weeks ago at a media conference in New York, as reported by Advisor One, an on-line investment newsletter for financial professionals.

He went on to say that “irrational thinking explains … why people are terrified of risk and volatility.” I can understand the frustration. When the markets take a downturn, many advisors and their investor clients sell their investments and park their money in cash. In other words, they sell when the market is low, and want to wait until prices rise before they get back in.

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The Gift That Keeps on Giving

11/23/2011 by

The holiday season is upon us, which means gift shopping, visiting family members and planning for end of the year events. It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday mayhem year after year, and before you know it too many years could pass while you put off planning for your financial future.

We live in a fast-paced, high-energy society that is constantly on the move and always looking for shortcuts. As a result, certain aspects of our lives are often put on hold until a more convenient time when life isn’t so hectic. The fact of the matter is that life is always busy and sometimes we have to force ourselves to pay attention and take care of the important things now, so that we won’t pay the price down the road.

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Get That Monkey off Your Back

11/04/2011 by

“A blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspaper could select a portfolio that would do just as well as one carefully selected by experts.” – Burton Maikiel, from A Random Walk Down Wall Street.

This observation from Maikiel prompted the WSJ to run a Dartboard Contest to test this theory. Over a ten year period, starting in 1988 and ending in Oct 1998, there were 100 such contests in which the results of monkeys throwing darts at a stock page were compared with the results of the best and brightest of Wall Street. Slam dunk for the “pros”, right?

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Risk: Just the Facts Ma’am!

10/27/2011 by

How much risk is in your portfolio? Seems like a pretty straight forward question. Well…do you know how much risk you’re taking on or are you just taking a ride on the “Trust Express”

You’d think this is something most investors would be demanding to know. Yes, there is a mathematical formula that measures how much risk is in your portfolio. It’s called standard deviation and it measures how volatile your particular portfolio is. It absolutely blows my mind that there is so little talked about this vital measurement in the investment world. Most people have never even heard about it.

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Rational…Lies! Shell of Truth Stuffed With Emotion

10/14/2011 by

Global broad based diversification. Investors make big mistakes when markets are volatile.

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