When regular Americans play the investment game with the markets on Wall Street, we know we’re at some level of risk. The stock market is a zero sum game, meaning someone has to lose for others to win.

Even when we make what seem to be relatively safe investments, the crashes of 2001 and 2008 taught us that we’re not bulletproof. You can also say that 2008 taught Wall Street’s banks and brokers a lesson — they’re “too big to fail,” so they’ll get immediate government assistance. Now they’re even bigger.

By that logic, the little guy is “too small … Read the rest

Financial Advisor: Wake Up and Check Your Portfolio in at Least Five Areas

The “Greatest Generation” experienced the burgeoning of government and corporate pension and health-care plans post-World War II, but baby boomers and later generations are facing the severe compromise of those benefits.

While thousands of boomers reach retirement age every day, they will continue to take on more responsibility for providing income for their essential living expenses, such as housing, food and health care.

The changing landscape of retirement financing has the vast majority of baby boomers concerned, yet millions fail to ever meet with a professional to … Read the rest

The big story in financial planning has been and will continue to be affording retirement, which makes ample sense with the retirement of tens of thousands of baby boomers expected every week for several consecutive years.

For boomers, many of whom have little to no retirement plan in place, affording retirement may be their generation’s last great social cause.

“The concerns over Social Security solvency alone epitomize the fact that your personal wealth, a clear-cut concern for each individual, extends beyond only you,” says Edward Sota, president and co-founder of Safeguard Financial Services, Inc., and a partner at Safeguard Investment … Read the rest

It is human nature to make decisions one at a time, says retirement income plan architect and CFP Travis Chance. Unfortunately, what seems like a good idea in one area of retirement planning can prove ruinous in another, he says.

“Designing a good retirement plan is like designing a house: you can’t plan one room without consideration of the entire structure,” says Chance, president and founder of CFG Wealth Management, LLC, and CFG Insurance Planning.

“But that’s exactly what people do when they make changes in one aspect of retirement funding without consideration of other sources. The more-the-merrier approach for … Read the rest

Avoid Retirement Complaints With Four Tips for Perspective

As droves of Baby Boomers continue to enter retirement, a startling finding was reported this year —  only 27 percent of them are confident that they’ll have enough money to last through their retirement, according to an Insured Retirement Institute study. About 36 percent said they plan to retire at 70 or later, an increase from 19 percent in 2011.

“As time marches on and boomers have other financial stressors, they’re realizing that they need to really focus on strategy, which for many includes postponing retirement,” says Joshua Mellberg, founder of J.D. … Read the rest

Manufacturers and independent manufacturers’ agents are unknowingly overpaying their income taxes and severely cutting their profitability. 

Let’s face it, it’s not the revenue that matters, it’s not even your paycheck that matters. What really matters in the end is how much income stays in your pocket. You can control your direct and indirect expenses. You can control your costs. You can control which products to manufacture or which lines to sell. You can actually control just about every aspect of your business. You can choose your customers because not everyone that wants to buy from you will be a good … Read the rest

Have you ever had the opportunity to watch the program Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The premise of the hit TV show focuses on a contestant who selects one of four multiple-choice answers to a trivia question. The more questions they answer correctly, the more money they can win.

But, of course, the questions get progressively more challenging, so the contestant is offered three “lifelines” when they’ve become stumped on a particular question. One lifeline is called “50-50” where the computer takes away two of the wrong answers and leaves the contestant a 50-50 chance of guessing the correct … Read the rest

Stick With the Plan, Stan

Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, will once again play host for the 2016 Masters Tournament, slated for April 7th. If you’re a golf fanatic like I am, I’m sure you’re anxiously anticipating the showdown between the sport’s newest generation of superstars like Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy.

The Masters Tournament challenges its vaunted participants by forcing them to develop a disciplined playing strategy that is centered on their individual strengths and weaknesses. A winning game plan that the golfer can trust even after the dubious double-bogey on the famous 13th hole. … Read the rest

When it came to saving and investing, I used to be a door mat. I enrolled in a 401k because I was told to. I selected certain investments because I was told they were good. I saved money with a bank because that’s what others did.

I basically let banks, Wall Street and the money system walk all over me like a door mat. It left me defeated, poorer and feeling out of control.

Then I lost 38 percent of my 401k in 2008. After being brought low in the depths of humility, I decided to rise from the ashes … Read the rest

5 Need-to-Know Items as You Approach Retirement From a Holistic Financial Planner

If you’re 10 years out from when you expect to retire, then now is the time to get serious about a retirement plan.

No matter what stage you’re in, there’s never a bad time to take responsibility for your financial destiny. However, a decade away from retirement should signify to pre-retirees that it’s really time to get a comprehensive plan if you want to enjoy retirement.

In recent years, retirement planning has received plenty of attention. In 2011, the first of the baby boomers reached what used to … Read the rest

Don’t Assume Industry Standards Are Always What’s Best

Don’t be so quick to simply accept what a financial advisor offers for your retirement — that’s the takeaway from multiple red flags since the 2008-09 economic crisis.

First, there’s an important difference between advice that’s “suitable,” called the suitability standard, and what’s best for an advisor’s client, called the fiduciary standard. As reported in PBS’s Frontline, just 15 percent of financial advisors met the “what’s best for the client” standard as recently as 2013. The majority fit into the suitable category — the bare minimum in professional qualifications — which … Read the rest

Gather ‘round people and let me tell you the Parable of the Poor Farmer.

Not so long ago there was a poor farmer who lived in the land of Opportunity. He was really smart and had learned his lessons all too well. He knew that if he worked hard he would do well and be able to provide plenty of food for his family while still having some produce to sell so that he could buy more seeds for the next planting season.

In the early years the poor farmer barely managed to eke out a living, but he was … Read the rest

Saving enough money for retirement can be a tricky proposition even under the best circumstances.

But when some of those dollars are being siphoned away by hidden — and perhaps unnecessary — fees, then the path to a secure retirement becomes even more difficult to navigate.

Even small fees can have a major impact over time, which is why people need to be aware of what they are being charged, and whether other options exist that make for a better and smarter investment

Probably 99 percent of people have no clue what they are really paying in fees and expenses. … Read the rest

Investors who count on their retirement accounts to see them through their golden years sometimes find that those savings add up to less than anticipated. One reason: Broker fees they either didn’t realize they were paying, or which were higher than need be.

But that could be changing. The Obama administration has proposed tougher regulations that officials say would curb “hidden” fees and broker conflicts of interest that can siphon off savings.

They want everyone to put the client’s interests ahead of their own. The idea is great. Putting it to work is more of a challenge. But regardless, that’s … Read the rest

At my firm, Balser Wealth Management, we like to say that we spend every waking moment being very concerned about your money. About how you earn your money, how you invest your money, and how your money is contributing to a happy, healthy lifestyle.

But in reality, sometimes our thoughts drift. This is particularly the case during football season when I find the most creative ways of relating the events of the workday to my beloved Dallas Cowboys and my fantasy football teams.

When I’m discussing with a client the stellar performance of a particularly strong ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), … Read the rest

“As dazzling as a high rate of return sounds to every investor, people need to understand what they’re ‘hunting’ with before chasing certain financial goals,” says Jeff Brummett.

“A middle-class investor is probably better aiming for a ‘reasonable rate of return,’ which includes consistent, steady growth over a longer period of time,” says Brummett, a former president and founder of a two-time Inc. 500 company who recently started Green Line Financial Services, LLC (www.greenlinefinancialservices.com) to, in part, improve his neighbors’ financial well-being.

“Going for the big-money return almost always means risking resources that most people simply cannot afford. The middle … Read the rest

If you’re more than 50 years old and reading this article, I’m pretty positive that these two questions have entered your mind lately: “When can I retire?” and “How much money will I need to live a comfortable life in retirement?”

To be honest, they’re pretty reasonable questions to ask yourself. And based on my experience in the wealth planning world, most individuals answer these questions in one of two ways.

• The first answer — and probably the most costly — is found by hiring a financial planner. That’s the well-dressed guy who meets with you and your spouse and

Do you have a little voice in the back of your head saying “Insurance”?

Everyone knows that you have to have insurance, but what do you need? You want protection for yourself, your clients want protection for their business and your business needs protection, but how is that accomplished?

As a business owner I have found it best to simplify where possible. You should look at your insurance needs in much the same way as you look at a simple car insurance policy: Liability (protecting others), Uninsured Motorist (protecting you) and Comprehensive and Collision (protecting your vehicle).

This means that … Read the rest

If you’ve ever worked with a stockbroker or financial planner, you’ve most likely been subject to a barrage of fancy-looking pie charts. Asset allocation models have been displayed in this graphic format since the pie was first invented, it seems.

Pie charts are standard tools that one views when meeting with a stockbroker or financial planner. I like to call these folks “pie-charters” because their recommendations are usually all the same. It doesn’t matter which firm you’re working with, when you’re meeting with your financial planner or stockbroker they always recommend a blend of growth vs. safety investments and fixed … Read the rest

MythBusters is an increasingly popular TV show on cable’s Discovery channel that uses entertaining science to uncover the truth behind well‑known myths and legends. From determining whether it’s possible to beat police radar detectors to whether a bull really can cause destruction in a china shop, the hosts mix scientific method with good old-fashioned ingenuity to separate fact from fiction and set the record straight on our mainstream thinking.

Perhaps MythBusters could make a visit to Wall Street, since there’s been a lot of market talk lately that really makes it hard for everyday investors to separate fact from fiction. … Read the rest

The other day I turned on the television and there was Lon McEachern and Norman Chad from ESPN calling the World Series of Poker tournament live from Harrah’s Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. As I watched the broadcast my mind began to wander (as it often does), and I began to think about how the game of poker is a great analogy for what I do in real life.

Now I’ve played a lot of poker in my life, and I can assure you that the game really has nothing to do with gambling. When I sit down at … Read the rest

Here are two questions I’m frequently asked during the various keynote speeches I present to trade groups around the country:

• “How do you make sure clients don’t miss the run-ups in the market?”
• “How do you protect clients from another financial disaster year like 2008?”

Frankly those are two very tough questions that would cause most financial advisors to quickly turn and run.

Let’s face it. In 2008 the markets had a catastrophic meltdown that continued into the first quarter of 2009, with upwards of 25 percent added on the downside.

Then the markets turned on a dime and began … Read the rest

Is It Really Impossible to Beat the Market?

For much of the last 25 years, most of the media and investment management world have promoted the idea that individual investors can’t beat the market. And it’s true. You can’t beat the market. That is, unless the stocks or mutual funds you own are, in fact, beating the market!

There is no way on earth you could ever beat the market if the stocks or mutual funds you hold are not keeping pace with the market, or with any luck, staying ahead of the market.

However, that’s what the majority of … Read the rest

The majority of business owners are planning on the proceeds from the sale of their business to fund their retirement. However, the 2013 State of Owner Readiness Survey revealed that more than 80 percent of business owners have no formal transition plan.

Historically, only 25 percent of businesses up for sale actually sell. Those odds are likely to become worse as millions of baby boomers attempt to sell their businesses over the next decade during the Exit Bubble.

Combine the lack of readiness with the historically low success rates for selling a business and you could be looking at the … Read the rest

Did you hear the one about the two guys out camping in the woods when a big grizzly bear strolls into their campsite? As the one guy starts running, the other pauses to put on his sneakers.

“What are you doing?!” the first guy yells out. “You’ll never outrun the bear!”

“I don’t have to!” his partner replies. “I just have to outrun you!”

If you have been keeping up with my column you may have learned the theory behind my investing approach, which is sort of like the story above. One of the processes I use to manage my … Read the rest

Comparing the Relative Strength of Humans, Horses and Your Investments

Have you ever heard the expression that describes an athlete as “pound-for-pound” the strongest, referring to the relative strength of that individual? This comparison phrase is what coaches use to measure strength levels for athletes of varying body weights.

For example, a large athlete may be able to lift a much larger amount of weight than a smaller athlete. However, the smaller athlete may be lifting more weight relative to his or her body weight than his larger counterpart. To help a coach figure this out, the “pound for pound” … Read the rest

When first selecting the format for a new business, many smaller business persons (particularly) rarely consider an LLC, unless they are alerted in the beginning by their lawyer or CPA. Their usual concerns are only:

• “Whether to incorporate or not.”
• And if so, “whether to select a C or S corporate form.”

Yet an LLC, for tax purposes, can be classified into whatever form of business is desired. So it should at least be considered as part of the initial process in formation of any business or investment entity.

LLCs are business entities created under state laws. They are owned … Read the rest

Overview

While all three forms of entities can serve to limit the liability of the owners, the essential difference with C Corporations is in the matter of taxation (and then available fringe benefits).

Both S Corporations and LLCs are taxed as if they were partnerships, in that there is no federal tax usually levied on the entity. Only the individual owners pay taxes on the net income (as with partnerships). However the C Corporation is subject to “double taxation” to the extent it shows net profits. First, the corporation pays taxes on the net earnings and then the individuals are … Read the rest

According to the IRS, close to 60 percent of all corporations are S Corporations and that the total is more than 3,000,000 of such corporations. The overriding reason for electing to be an S Corporation is taxes. These corporations (except in rare instances) are not subject to corporate income taxes, but rather have the tax treatment of a partnership, in that only the “owners” are taxed — and not the entity itself. Thus they avoid the “double taxation” problem of a regular C Corporation in which both the corporation and (later) the shareholders can be taxed on the same … Read the rest

You’ve spent months preparing for this moment. You’ve missed backyard BBQs, given up vacation days and blown off the family to devote time and effort to research, analyze and make predictions. And now, you’re fairly confident that all your hard work will pay off to make this “your year.”

You guessed it — It’s time for Fantasy Football.

At this time of year, Thursday through Monday means only one thing to many Americans: football season is back in full swing. Fans will be glued to their computer screens for the next four months as they track plays and performances while … Read the rest