Helping pave the way towards financial freedom
The big industry news in the past week is that some of the biggest brokerage firms slashed their commission rates to zero. The trend was inevitable, as declining commissions have been happening across the industry for decades. Some smaller outfits experimented with $0 trades recently, but it wasn’t until Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and E*Trade…
Looking back at the past quarter, the summer months (July/August) were slow followed by a more bullish September. The Federal Reserve (Fed), citing a slowdown in growth, cut interest rates in July and September in attempts to prolong the economic expansion. The European Central Bank took similar measures. Overall, the global markets were generally mixed…
When we need to make big financial decisions in life, most people look for a source of expertise and guidance to help make the best-educated decisions. This is often times where professional advisors, like myself, are called in to play. The situations vary greatly of course, as does the type and quantity of the advice…
Cash. The green stuff. It’s nice, and feels good having it in your pocket. But how much is too much? Before you say “I can never have too much cash”, I am referring to keeping cash as an asset. Or better yet, as an investment. So let me re-phrase the question: what is the percentage…
Over the past couple weeks I have been mildly entertained by several articles that discuss some of the worst financial advice that people have received. Bits of it are off-the-wall, but for the most part some common themes exist. Some of these “financial nuggets” that go around are debatable at best. I won’t go so…
In my years in the business, I’ve seen some bright people make some really silly money decisions. I can probably write a small book if I included all the mistakes I’ve witnessed! I call them silly mistakes. I use the word “silly” because it’s taken more lightly. I can probably swap the words to read…
This past week I attended a two-day seminar from Ed Slott and Co. I know a lot about IRAs – A L O T – but am ever-curious and always willing to learn more. Ed is considered by many to be America’s IRA expert and I went to learn from one of the smartest people…
Lately I have been introduced to people who have just come into a whole lot of money. Most times it’s game-changing kind of money. And there are a number of reasons why it’s happening. Some have small businesses which take off. Some have a company stock which went IPO. Some are stock options which became…
Whether you are a stock investor or a bond investor, the first half of 2019 was outstanding for financial markets. This has been a huge about-face from December when markets pulled back and sentiment was grim. The S&P 500 had it’s best June month in over 60 years. Not that we’re getting overly excited about…
June is the time of year when school wraps up, with parents celebrating and guiding their kids to the next chapter in their exciting lives. I was reminded of it this week when looking at my Instagram. I am seeing friends post graduating pics, whether it’s moving on to middle school or moving on to…